For many years mentions of the Football Association’s ‘disciplinary committee’ conjured images of a gathering of antiquated blazers from various county FA’s arriving at Lancaster Gate for h'ordeuvres and aperitifs, before musing over the misgivings of a lairy footballer and thus deciding whether the cat o’ nine tails or a three game sit on the naughty step were adequate comeuppance for the greaseball in question.
Nowadays the ‘disciplinary unit’ seems to have sexed itself up to rival Sir Harry Pearce and co in Spooks. After another fractious weekend of Premier League football, a host of implausibly handsome agents will roll across the bonnets of their chauffeur driven Mercedes and into the high-tech towers down at Soho Square to liaise with police and analyse video footage of an incident which has since gone viral to millions around the world.
The incident we speak of is of course the John Terry racism allegations, and even if in reality the truth seekers in question do lie somewhere in between the one’s who want to wash mouths out with soap and those who shoot on sight in tube stations, the FA and its people who do deal with such matters once again find themselves hopelessly marooned over an issue which has become routinely insolvable.
By the time the row exploded via a hive of social networking activity on Monday afternoon, the FA were already busy swimming in circles about similar circumstances involving Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez.
In both cases the FA have vowed to pursue the claims with vigour but concrete evidence on which to prosecute an individual over such matters is extremely thin on the ground. It largely comes down to one man’s word against another and even though in both instances the scene of the clashes were littered with peripheral bodies, there seem to be a suspiciously large number of deaf ears from all camps.
The FA will now be charged with sifting through various camera angles and microphone recordings in the hope that some light will be shed on the matter, whilst a number of players from all sides will be interviewed to see if they can add anything to the piece.
Although each and every club subscribes to stamping out discrimination from within the game, this also comes with a feeling that clubs deal with issues with a large amount of self-appreciation. The two-ing and fro-ing of the allegations requires bonafide testimonies and it is difficult to imagine another player from the accused’s club leaping forward to add weight to the investigations against a team-mate.
During Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate’s trial for affray ten years previous, then club colleague Michael Duberry had the presence of conscience to give evidence in court which would - had the trial not collapsed due to the contempt of the Sunday Mirror - potentially have been damning to men he would theoretically have had to shower and change with in the future.
Duberry’s contributions to the case were not taken well amongst fellow players and fans of Leeds United at the time and the defender duly found himself pilloried to the point of having to leave the club for the heinous offence of helping officers with their enquiries.
Unsurprisingly each of Liverpool, Manchester United, QPR and Chelsea have pulled their men from the middle and are standing staunchly by them in the corner of the rings, leaving the FA stood isolated to piece together the rather fragmented and circumstantial evidence which would be picked to pieces by any self respecting defence lawyer in a court of law.
Indeed it is the police who have also been summoned onto the Terry affair because the complaint about the England captain was made to the Met on Monday morning by a member of the public.
The Met will deal with the issue as a criminal mater, and would therefore be legally obliged to produce a case fit to stand up throughout legal channels. As we’ve mentioned above, the nature of the evidence available to all parties is shrouded in innuendo and lacking in clarity meaning unless there are a number of witnesses able to collaborate accusations - which with Terry and Suarez there are not - a prosecution would almost certainly fail.
The involvement of the police has also added to the futility of the FA’s pursuit of justice. If the police do not have enough evidence to convict, how could a lesser body do anything but follow suit without fear of any reciprocal legal retaliations being administered through the very same judicial system which had previously exonerated the accused?
Nor, given the nature of the subject can the FA be seen not to act seriously or sweep it under the carpet as they do with so many other issues which would be equally as hard to prove.
It’s often difficult to find sympathy with the disciplinary processes of the FA who’s statutes and precedents are largely baseless and inconsistent and who’s uncodified constitution of our national game makes it about as democratic as your average African despot. But in these scenarios - it is.
The FA’s attempts to stamp out all forms of discrimination from the game are far more than an empty gesture but considering the complexities of confirming guilt, they still represent a toothless tiger over the issue.
Until they are presented with a, forgive the pun, black and white case of abuse from upon the field of play the FA can do little to act upon the matter. However one day, unfortunately sooner rather than later, there is likely to be an instance which is proveable and it is then which the FA need to show their might and intention to stamp out racism from the game.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Milwall v Ipswich Town betting preview
The international break is rarely welcomed by many managers but Milwall have been undefeated since the last time domestic duties were shelved. They will aim to keep that run going against the play-off chasing Tractor Boys this weekend.
The Lionesses went into the last round of Euro 2012 qualifiers mired in the relegation zone. They had scored just once in seven games losing five of them, but following the resumption Kenny Jackett’s boys have rediscovered their Bermondsey bowl.
Draws with Middlesbrough and Brighton were built upon by a Sven-busting 3-0 defeat of Leicester City and bwin’s 3way football betting market have Millwall at 6/5 to pick up another three points against Ipswich Town.
However, this resurgence has been temporary and Millwall have previously only won once at the New Den all season losing one and drawing the other four. Ipswich have also drawn two of their six away games so honours even at 11/5 seems well priced.
Whats more, Millwall have only scored four at home all season with Ipswich drying up in their last two games. Goals might be tight, so under 2.5 goals in the game at 4/5 could be a steady bet.
After a calamitous start to the campaign the Tractor Boys eventually got their act together after a spate of early hammerings. Four wins from six before last weekends home defeat to Crystal Palace made them one of the form sides in the division.
The Suffolk side are loitering around ninth place in the Championship table although the turbulence of the division means they are a mere four points off West Ham in second.
Paul Jewell said his team have been ‘flat’ in recent weeks, culminating in the loss to Palace, but after having a full week to recover, I’m backing them to find a second wind and sneak this 2-1 at 10/1. New bwin customers receive a £25 free bet when you register and putting that on a 2-1 Ipswich win will return you £275.
New customers can register here to claim a £25 free bet.
Follow us on Twitter @bwinbetting
John Baines
The Lionesses went into the last round of Euro 2012 qualifiers mired in the relegation zone. They had scored just once in seven games losing five of them, but following the resumption Kenny Jackett’s boys have rediscovered their Bermondsey bowl.
Draws with Middlesbrough and Brighton were built upon by a Sven-busting 3-0 defeat of Leicester City and bwin’s 3way football betting market have Millwall at 6/5 to pick up another three points against Ipswich Town.
However, this resurgence has been temporary and Millwall have previously only won once at the New Den all season losing one and drawing the other four. Ipswich have also drawn two of their six away games so honours even at 11/5 seems well priced.
Whats more, Millwall have only scored four at home all season with Ipswich drying up in their last two games. Goals might be tight, so under 2.5 goals in the game at 4/5 could be a steady bet.
After a calamitous start to the campaign the Tractor Boys eventually got their act together after a spate of early hammerings. Four wins from six before last weekends home defeat to Crystal Palace made them one of the form sides in the division.
The Suffolk side are loitering around ninth place in the Championship table although the turbulence of the division means they are a mere four points off West Ham in second.
Paul Jewell said his team have been ‘flat’ in recent weeks, culminating in the loss to Palace, but after having a full week to recover, I’m backing them to find a second wind and sneak this 2-1 at 10/1. New bwin customers receive a £25 free bet when you register and putting that on a 2-1 Ipswich win will return you £275.
New customers can register here to claim a £25 free bet.
Follow us on Twitter @bwinbetting
John Baines
City must shake off inferiority complex
TEAMtalk guest John Baines believes Manchester City face the ultimate test of how far they have come as a footballing giant at Old Trafford.
The Premier League's top two and bookies' favourites for the title come together on Sunday afternoon in arguably the most eagerly-anticipated fixture of the season so far.
Whatever the result, the ultimate destination of the Premier League trophy will not become much clearer for it - especially with Chelsea hovering menacingly in third. However, what we will find out is just how these two sides now perceive one another.
Just shy of 12 months ago, the reciprocal Manchester derby took place in the other half of the city. The scoreless draw at Eastlands was remarkable for nothing and memorable for all of the wrong reasons. Neither side came out of the affair with much credit, especially the hosts who were widely pilloried for their overtly-cautious tactics.
Roberto Mancini's men played for and got a draw without showing much inclination to attack their bitter rivals or go for the win. The point was lauded as another step towards the goal of Champions League positioning but to the naked eye it looked like an admission of weakness on City's behalf. An on-field demonstration orchestrated from the touchline that they still felt inferior to their old foes. The fact that at the time Manchester United were not even officially the best team in the land and were labouring themselves through the post Wayne Rooney transfer saga made the whole attitude from Mancini's men even more baffling.
A year on and the dynamics of the situation have changed, with United champions and City having grand designs on the thought. If City are to realise the aims of their expenditure and talent, they must shake the inferiority complex which has hung over them for decades - starting on Sunday.
Mancini's pragmatism in last year's derby was not an isolated incident. His side had been equally as belligerent against other contenders and although this season City's scorelines have been in large impressive, their only result of note was the dismantling of a ragged Tottenham side reeling from concerns over Luka Modric's future. In every aspect, this is the first true test of their credentials.
There is no doubt that Manchester City have the quality and depth of personnel to win this division, but as demonstrated by United's 'unvintage' class of 2010/11, going the course over 38 games requires an ingrained desire to win which is bred and not bought as well as other characteristics which define champions.
Late winners, resilient comebacks and ground-out victories all contribute to becoming the best team in the land - but so to does having a fearlessness and bravado that you are indeed the best. United have enviably demonstrated many of these traits since the inception of the Premier League to make them so revered and reviled and it is these qualities which City need to compliment their outstanding individual qualities.
A no-nonsense win over Everton and a late comeback midweek against Villarreal prove they can perform with such functionality - but the strongest barometer of how to judge how far they've progressed will be how they approach facing the champions on Sunday.
Going into the game City will be largely at full strength with the absence of Carlos Tevez long since immaterial. They are on the back of five wins out of six in all competitions as opposed to United's two from five plus injury issues, with the Blues knowing a win would put them five points clear of the side they seek to usurp.
Internally all concerned with Manchester City may take a point now, as would many sides who venture into the turf of parallel opposition, but there is a difference between getting a point and playing for one - and the manner and mentality of their performance will shed more light on their aspirations than any material gains. For once, a trip to Old Trafford should yield no fear, and neither should it be placed into them.
Conversely attitudes may also have changed from within the United camp. You are unlikely to hear Sir Alex Ferguson uttering 'noisy neighbours' any time soon and the Scot has long since admitted that City pose a genuine threat to his side's mantra of English football's kingpins.
The Red Devils supremo will be well aware that despite the flurry of early-season goals, United's expansive style has often left them alarmingly exposed at the back. A statistic coughed up after the Norwich City game showed United have had more shots directed at them than any other side this season and that tally was also more than they'd allowed throughout the whole of last season.
Arsenal and Chelsea have already perished at Old Trafford this term but each of those eventually-handsome victories were skewered by profligate finishing from the visitors and Basle's three goals in the Champions League further highlighted a soft centre.
Last time out at Anfield, Ferguson gave the runners a run-out, switching to a starting 4-5-1 to try to reinforce the midfield protection. Of course, battening down the hatches away from home is different to doing it in front of your own fans - but even still it will be interesting to see how Ferguson attempts to taper the threat of the positionless connivance of City playmaker David Silva.
Few managers have as much faith in their team as Ferguson and given hosting rights the onus will be on United to get at their cross-town rivals. Perhaps in any other season against City that would be the case, and certainly against Arsenal and Chelsea that was the case, but one senses times are a changing and the time to change may well be Sunday.
The infancy of the season has seen United and City set themselves up as the teams to top, but which one has the absolute belief to win over 90 minutes and 38 games will become apparent by 3.30pm on Sunday - even if the outcome of the piece will be defined much further down the line.
The Premier League's top two and bookies' favourites for the title come together on Sunday afternoon in arguably the most eagerly-anticipated fixture of the season so far.
Whatever the result, the ultimate destination of the Premier League trophy will not become much clearer for it - especially with Chelsea hovering menacingly in third. However, what we will find out is just how these two sides now perceive one another.
Just shy of 12 months ago, the reciprocal Manchester derby took place in the other half of the city. The scoreless draw at Eastlands was remarkable for nothing and memorable for all of the wrong reasons. Neither side came out of the affair with much credit, especially the hosts who were widely pilloried for their overtly-cautious tactics.
Roberto Mancini's men played for and got a draw without showing much inclination to attack their bitter rivals or go for the win. The point was lauded as another step towards the goal of Champions League positioning but to the naked eye it looked like an admission of weakness on City's behalf. An on-field demonstration orchestrated from the touchline that they still felt inferior to their old foes. The fact that at the time Manchester United were not even officially the best team in the land and were labouring themselves through the post Wayne Rooney transfer saga made the whole attitude from Mancini's men even more baffling.
A year on and the dynamics of the situation have changed, with United champions and City having grand designs on the thought. If City are to realise the aims of their expenditure and talent, they must shake the inferiority complex which has hung over them for decades - starting on Sunday.
Mancini's pragmatism in last year's derby was not an isolated incident. His side had been equally as belligerent against other contenders and although this season City's scorelines have been in large impressive, their only result of note was the dismantling of a ragged Tottenham side reeling from concerns over Luka Modric's future. In every aspect, this is the first true test of their credentials.
There is no doubt that Manchester City have the quality and depth of personnel to win this division, but as demonstrated by United's 'unvintage' class of 2010/11, going the course over 38 games requires an ingrained desire to win which is bred and not bought as well as other characteristics which define champions.
Late winners, resilient comebacks and ground-out victories all contribute to becoming the best team in the land - but so to does having a fearlessness and bravado that you are indeed the best. United have enviably demonstrated many of these traits since the inception of the Premier League to make them so revered and reviled and it is these qualities which City need to compliment their outstanding individual qualities.
A no-nonsense win over Everton and a late comeback midweek against Villarreal prove they can perform with such functionality - but the strongest barometer of how to judge how far they've progressed will be how they approach facing the champions on Sunday.
Going into the game City will be largely at full strength with the absence of Carlos Tevez long since immaterial. They are on the back of five wins out of six in all competitions as opposed to United's two from five plus injury issues, with the Blues knowing a win would put them five points clear of the side they seek to usurp.
Internally all concerned with Manchester City may take a point now, as would many sides who venture into the turf of parallel opposition, but there is a difference between getting a point and playing for one - and the manner and mentality of their performance will shed more light on their aspirations than any material gains. For once, a trip to Old Trafford should yield no fear, and neither should it be placed into them.
Conversely attitudes may also have changed from within the United camp. You are unlikely to hear Sir Alex Ferguson uttering 'noisy neighbours' any time soon and the Scot has long since admitted that City pose a genuine threat to his side's mantra of English football's kingpins.
The Red Devils supremo will be well aware that despite the flurry of early-season goals, United's expansive style has often left them alarmingly exposed at the back. A statistic coughed up after the Norwich City game showed United have had more shots directed at them than any other side this season and that tally was also more than they'd allowed throughout the whole of last season.
Arsenal and Chelsea have already perished at Old Trafford this term but each of those eventually-handsome victories were skewered by profligate finishing from the visitors and Basle's three goals in the Champions League further highlighted a soft centre.
Last time out at Anfield, Ferguson gave the runners a run-out, switching to a starting 4-5-1 to try to reinforce the midfield protection. Of course, battening down the hatches away from home is different to doing it in front of your own fans - but even still it will be interesting to see how Ferguson attempts to taper the threat of the positionless connivance of City playmaker David Silva.
Few managers have as much faith in their team as Ferguson and given hosting rights the onus will be on United to get at their cross-town rivals. Perhaps in any other season against City that would be the case, and certainly against Arsenal and Chelsea that was the case, but one senses times are a changing and the time to change may well be Sunday.
The infancy of the season has seen United and City set themselves up as the teams to top, but which one has the absolute belief to win over 90 minutes and 38 games will become apparent by 3.30pm on Sunday - even if the outcome of the piece will be defined much further down the line.
La Liga betting preview
Saturday October 15th
Mallorca v Valencia
Home win: 21/10 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 6/5
Betting Tip: Mallorca maybe a nice place to go on your holidays but it’s not the favoured destination of many a la Liga club. The Islanders boast an impressive home record and have won two of their three matches whilst hosting so far this season. Valencia won here last year but Mallorca won the previous two and with los Che having half an eye on a midweek Champions League trip to Leverkusen, back the 12/5 draw.
Getafe v Villarreal
Home win: 13/10 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 2/1
Betting Tip: Getafe haven’t got off to the best of starts after narrowly missing out on the drop last campaign. Madrid’s third club have won just once all season albeit that being at home against then leaders Real Betis. Villarreal have also been slow out of the blocks and with a vital Champions League tie against Manchester City to follow, the draw again looks best value at 23/10.
Real Madrid v Real Betis
Home win: 3/25 Draw: 29/4 Away win: 17/1
Betting Tip: After an explosive start to the season the Betis bubble has burst with a pair of scoreless defeats in their last two games. Things are hardly likely to improve at the fortress Bernabeu where Real win lots and score plenty. There’s not much money in the Real win but the resurgent Kaka could be worth a try at 7/5 to score at any time during the match.
Barcelona v Racing Santander
Home win: 3/50 Draw: 19/2 Away win: 30/1
Betting Tip: Barcelona have played three times at home in la Liga this season, winning all three and scoring 18 goals in the process. There’s only one winner here but at 3/50 for the result you’ll have to look elsewhere for value. If you fancy another routine Barca victory, have a multiple correct score of 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 at 7/4.
Granada v Atletico Madrid
Home win: 13/5 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 1/1
Betting Tip: Atletico have yet to register a point or even score a goal away from home this season but the remedy for that is a trip to Granada. Last season’s Segunda Division play-off winners will be in the thick of the relegation battle all season and despite a win and a draw in their last two home matches, Atletico should have enough to claim the 1/1 win.
Sunday October 16th
Rayo Vallecano v Espanyol
Home win: 23/20 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 23/10
Betting Tip: Rayo haven’t won at home and Espanyol have yet to win away this season and what’s more neither of them score much either. Given that under 1.5 goals in the game is 37/20, the 23/10 draw looks to be a good bit of business.
Real Zaragoza v Real Sociedad
Home win: 19/20 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 29/10
Betting Tip: Bar getting drummed 6-0 by Real Madrid, Zaragoza have picked up four points from the other six at home and have fought well without claiming maximum points against Betis, Malaga and Villarreal. Sociedad have lost three of their last four with only a win over lowly Granada to show since their remarkable comeback against Barcelona. Zaragoza to win with under 3.5 goals in the game at 3/2 is a steal.
Levante v Malaga
Home win: 2/1 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 13/10
Betting Tip: Levante are this seasons surprise package deservedly lying in second and remaining unbeaten. Malaga’s new signings have also got their act together after an opening day defeat and have won four of their last five. The result is a tough one to call so picking over 2.5 goals at 19/20 covers all bases.
Sevilla v Sporting Gijon
Home win: 37/100 Draw: 7/2 Away win: 15/2
Betting Tip: Sevilla have won all three at home this season whilst basement boys Gijon have lost all bar one of their fixtures including both away games. Alvaro Negredo has been back amongst the goals for Sevilla and he’s evens to score at any time during the game.
Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna
Home win: 39/50 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 18/5
Betting Tip: Osasuna have lost just once this season courtesy of an 8-0 reverse at the Camp Nou. Aside from that they’ve been difficult to beat and they should have enough to hold off a Bilbao side who have yet to win at home. Osasuna may not have enough to win but bwin’s double chance have them at evens to get a draw or better.
Mallorca v Valencia
Home win: 21/10 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 6/5
Betting Tip: Mallorca maybe a nice place to go on your holidays but it’s not the favoured destination of many a la Liga club. The Islanders boast an impressive home record and have won two of their three matches whilst hosting so far this season. Valencia won here last year but Mallorca won the previous two and with los Che having half an eye on a midweek Champions League trip to Leverkusen, back the 12/5 draw.
Getafe v Villarreal
Home win: 13/10 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 2/1
Betting Tip: Getafe haven’t got off to the best of starts after narrowly missing out on the drop last campaign. Madrid’s third club have won just once all season albeit that being at home against then leaders Real Betis. Villarreal have also been slow out of the blocks and with a vital Champions League tie against Manchester City to follow, the draw again looks best value at 23/10.
Real Madrid v Real Betis
Home win: 3/25 Draw: 29/4 Away win: 17/1
Betting Tip: After an explosive start to the season the Betis bubble has burst with a pair of scoreless defeats in their last two games. Things are hardly likely to improve at the fortress Bernabeu where Real win lots and score plenty. There’s not much money in the Real win but the resurgent Kaka could be worth a try at 7/5 to score at any time during the match.
Barcelona v Racing Santander
Home win: 3/50 Draw: 19/2 Away win: 30/1
Betting Tip: Barcelona have played three times at home in la Liga this season, winning all three and scoring 18 goals in the process. There’s only one winner here but at 3/50 for the result you’ll have to look elsewhere for value. If you fancy another routine Barca victory, have a multiple correct score of 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 at 7/4.
Granada v Atletico Madrid
Home win: 13/5 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 1/1
Betting Tip: Atletico have yet to register a point or even score a goal away from home this season but the remedy for that is a trip to Granada. Last season’s Segunda Division play-off winners will be in the thick of the relegation battle all season and despite a win and a draw in their last two home matches, Atletico should have enough to claim the 1/1 win.
Sunday October 16th
Rayo Vallecano v Espanyol
Home win: 23/20 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 23/10
Betting Tip: Rayo haven’t won at home and Espanyol have yet to win away this season and what’s more neither of them score much either. Given that under 1.5 goals in the game is 37/20, the 23/10 draw looks to be a good bit of business.
Real Zaragoza v Real Sociedad
Home win: 19/20 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 29/10
Betting Tip: Bar getting drummed 6-0 by Real Madrid, Zaragoza have picked up four points from the other six at home and have fought well without claiming maximum points against Betis, Malaga and Villarreal. Sociedad have lost three of their last four with only a win over lowly Granada to show since their remarkable comeback against Barcelona. Zaragoza to win with under 3.5 goals in the game at 3/2 is a steal.
Levante v Malaga
Home win: 2/1 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 13/10
Betting Tip: Levante are this seasons surprise package deservedly lying in second and remaining unbeaten. Malaga’s new signings have also got their act together after an opening day defeat and have won four of their last five. The result is a tough one to call so picking over 2.5 goals at 19/20 covers all bases.
Sevilla v Sporting Gijon
Home win: 37/100 Draw: 7/2 Away win: 15/2
Betting Tip: Sevilla have won all three at home this season whilst basement boys Gijon have lost all bar one of their fixtures including both away games. Alvaro Negredo has been back amongst the goals for Sevilla and he’s evens to score at any time during the game.
Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna
Home win: 39/50 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 18/5
Betting Tip: Osasuna have lost just once this season courtesy of an 8-0 reverse at the Camp Nou. Aside from that they’ve been difficult to beat and they should have enough to hold off a Bilbao side who have yet to win at home. Osasuna may not have enough to win but bwin’s double chance have them at evens to get a draw or better.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Ayre blind to Premier League brand
Ever since the Premier League became the most marketable and money-laden league in the world, the issue of its overseas broadcasting rights has been the elephant in the room. It has taken until now for somebody to voice opinion and break from the status quo with Liverpool's Ayre claiming: "The debate has to happen," about whether clubs should negotiate individual overseas broadcasting contracts to get what they deem to be a fair slice of the pie.
Ayre's comments certainly have sparked a debate but perhaps not in the manner he expected. His views have immediately been seized upon as self-centered, narrow minded and greedy which is perhaps somewhat unfair given his role and responsibility to his employers, but the debate which Ayre is trying to instigate has much further lying implications to the rest of the Premier League and English football in general.
At this juncture it's possibly worth delving into what TV revenue comes into the Premier League and how that is currently split. The league sells TV rights into domestic and overseas brackets. The domestic pot is 50 per cent equally apportioned between the 20 clubs, with the remaining money being awarded on merit for league placings and 'facility' fees for being on the telly. So, based on last seasons figures, each club were given an even sum of just short of £14million with the rest largely based on prize winning.
That meant that of the domestic rights, champions Manchester United earned just over £40million whilst bottom club Blackpool left with around £25million. To all and sundry this system seems fair given the initial parity in payments and the rewards of a meritocracy, but the subject up for discussion is the overseas broadcasting rights which are spread differently.
The overseas package for the negotiated period between 2010-13 is worth approximately £1billion. Last season each and every club were granted just shy of £18million independent of stature, status or South Korean fanbase and it is this figure that Ayre claims Liverpool and the other box office teams are due a bigger portion of.
Manchester United and Chelsea have been quick to distance themselves from the Anfield club's stance but that may or may not have been nothing more than political point scoring given that it was that unloveable rogue Peter Kenyon who first floated the idea of individual broadcast rights whilst at United at the turn of the millennium.
Ayre's observations are that Liverpool, United, Arsenal and Chelsea are between them by far the most watched sides and thus have much to do with the volume of revenue coming onto our shores. To a degree, he has a point and to coin Ayre's crude analogy, everybody wants to watch the best but not the rest.
However, the point which Ayre overwhelmingly misses is that the tops clubs are so popular because of the brand. The marketing drive of the Premier League far outstrips that of any other world league and as a result its popularity has boomed since its inception.
Foreign fans will often roll out the cliches about the atmosphere at English grounds and the intenity and competitiveness of the games as the main attraction of our football, albeit with the hyperbolic hollywood glitz and glamour of the chosen few. The popularity of English football is not down to an elite ruling class but moreover a collective pack who all communally create a product which is so watchable around the world. The little clubs may not have much but what they do have is enough for them to be comparatively competetive. If we can shoehorn Blackpool back into the mix, was it not last year's basement boys who did a league double over the mighty Liverpool and brought so much to the party otherwise? The endeavours of those plucky underdogs differentiates leagues.
Parallels are immediately drawn to the system in La Liga whereby Barcelona and Real Madrid have a complete duopoly over the whole league. They are the two most marketable sides and indeed sell there own TV rights but as we know, this is to the complete detriment to the rest of the league. There may only have been four different winners of England's top flight since 1992 and there may only be a small band that have any chance of winning it presently, but in the last two la Liga seasons third place have finished over 20 points behind second.
Whether you feel that the top clubs do deserve a greater return from overseas broadcasting rights much depends on if you take an economic or ethical stance. Individual broadcasting rights would be designed to make the rich richer and increase disparity between the haves and the have nots. Much like Spain's inpenetrable top two, more wealth to those who don't need it could see England's top five or six clubs partitioned off from the rest.
The Premier League is a monolithic organisation fast becoming further detached from the rest of English football but the league and the major institutions within it must recognise their duty of care to the whole sport within this country. If you kill off the competition you kill off what makes the league great, and in that final gambit there is a hidden analogy about biting the hand that feeds you.
Friday, 7 October 2011
Inferior international teams need isolating
TEAMtalk's John Baines believes the Euro 2012 qualifying phase has proven the need to place international minnows in a 'development' group.
International breaks are like the days where you did detention at school.
You immediately treat it as a bit of an inconsequence and convince yourself that it will be over before you know it, but before long it's dragged on and on to the point where you feel punished.
So, with a vast supply of football for the consumer, a crowded schedule for the competitors and a waning interest away from the club game, is it time to reshape the qualifying process for major international tournaments?
Once again, the high-octane chivalry of domestic football has been temporarily suspended whilst international commitments are completed. Over the next six days, the 15-month qualifying process for Euro 2012 will be almost finalised, with only the four two-legged play-off ties in November remaining.
For some, the whole process has been a formality; for others, it will soon end in glorious success or failure and for a few, it may as well never even have started in the first place.
Ahead of the penultimate round of qualifying fixtures, four of the nine top seeds - Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain - have progressed serenely. The remaining five top seeds - Russia, France, Croatia, England and Portugal - all lead their respective groups and look good for an appearance at next summer's championships.
But down the other end of the tables, the tune has been just as familiar. So far, the nine European sides currently ranked lowest in FIFA's world rankings - Iceland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan, Malta, Andorra and San Marino - have lost 61 of the 73 games they have played between them, winning just seven and drawing five.
That amounts to a collective tally of only 26 points from a possible 219, scoring just 33 goals between them and shipping in 185.
Not one of the victories recorded by the intrepid bottom nine has come over a team ranked in Europe's top 30 and only Moldova have clocked up more than four points during qualifying - that coming courtesy of being paired with the hapless San Marino. Everyone's favourite Italian principality have not even scored yet, whilst picking the ball out 49 times in seven ties as they and fellow sitting-ducks Andorra remain quite literally pointless.
Given the damning statistics that highlight the futility of the theoretical qualification attempts of these lesser lights, it once again raises the issue of quite why UEFA feel the need to continuously torment these minnows by allowing them to get trampled on by vastly superior sides.
The Netherlands hammering 11 goals past San Marino and Spain tormenting Liechtenstein is akin to a champion boxer pounding an unfit amateur. It's just not sport, and nobody can be getting much out of it.
One of UEFA's remits is to promote and develop football in Europe, and it's difficult to see any benefit for these countries to be part of the current qualifying process. For the good of all, change is needed.
FIFA's world rankings have long lost any semblance of reason or meaning even before England were bestowed as the fourth best team in the world, but a method could and should be devised whereby the eight worst sides in Europe are partitioned off into their own event, similar to that used in cricket where associated nations compete for the honour of appearing at the various ICC championships.
This 'development' group could see the weakest nations playing one other during one qualifying period, to enable the top two to be 'promoted' to the main qualifying stage for the next tournament.
Far from being elitist to the top dogs, it gives those lesser countries the opportunity to have an achievable goal rather than the fruitless pursuit of trying to reach a tournament they have no hope of appearing at. Their players and fans wouldn't have to simply make up the numbers and endure the indignity of being routinely humiliated. Across a condensed period, nations who see tangible improvements over a short-to-medium term would earn the right to then participate in the prestigious fixtures against the continent's best sides at the top stadiums.
A promotion-relegation system would also create accountability towards those who have found themselves slipping down the rankings. Amongst those sides lingering around the cut-off point are Wales and Austria and the threat of demotion should kick-start them and others into retaliatory action to stave off the drop.
The present all-in qualification process is old and uninspiring but more to the point, there are virtually no barometers of success for the sides who are frankly inferior to be competing at this level.
There would be few losers with the introduction of a 'development' group and certainly fewer losers than there are now. It's a simple call, Mr Platini.
Follow John on Twitter at @bainesyDiego10 and check out his blog at Blue Menace.
Back Spain to make it a perfect seven
The undisputed kings of international football will conclude their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign over the next week – beginning with a victory over the Czech Republic in Prague.
Spain will defend their European Championship crown in Poland and Ukraine next summer after arriving at the tournament in ominous fashion.
Vicente del Bosque’s men have won all six of their Group I games so far and bwin’s 3Way football betting market has them at 18/25 to reach seventh heaven against Petr Cech and co.
What’s more, if you think the Spaniards will go on to wrap up the group blemish free then you can double up the Czech win with the almost inevitable slaughter of Scotland next Tuesday.
Spain to beat both the Czech Republic and the Scots is priced at a very healthy 93/100.
As is customary from the originators of tiki-taka football, Spain have not just been winning, but winning in style and with plenty of goals.
La Roja have struck 21 times in their six qualifiers, scoring less than three on just one occasion.
If you fancy Spain to comfortably beat the Czechs, back them to win with more than 2.5 goals in the game at 9/5 or more than 3.5 at 4/1.
New recruits who sign up for a bwin account are entitled to a £25 free bet and utilising that on Spain to win with over 3.5 goals in the game at 4/1 will pocket you £125.
But before you go lumping all your hard earned on the Spanish, it may be worth considering the standings in Group I.
Spain have boxed off top spot and could be forgiven for going through the motions but the Czech’s qualification is still in the balance.
They lie in second place just two points ahead of Scotland so will need to up the ante to fend off the Tartan Army.
Czech Republic can be found at 15/4 to win with the draw at 13/5. However, the best bit of business if you fancy anything other than a Spain win would be to use bwin’s double chance market to select the Czech win or a draw at a generous 11/10.
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La Liga weekend betting preview
John Baines casts his eye over this weekend's La Liga action.
Saturday 1st October
Osasuna v Mallorca
Home win: 39/50 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 18/5
Betting Tip: If you want to see an end-to-end game of attacking football this weekend then Osasuna-Mallorca is better left avoided. The un-dynamic duo have only scored three goals a piece in their five league games and if you forget about the eight that Barcelona stuck past Osasuna, they’ve only conceded seven between them too. Get on the draw at 12/5.
Racing Santander v Rayo Vallecano
Home win: 23/20 Draw: 21/10 Away win: 39/20
Betting Tip: Santander were the headline act of the first round after snatching defeat from the draws of victory at Valencia. Racing were 3-1 up before losing 4-3 and since then they’ve failed to find the target in four games. Having said that, Racing are the better side and they could easily nick this one. 4/1 for a home win with under 2.5 goals looks like a steal.
Villarreal v Real Zaragoza
Home win: 3/5 Draw: 14/5 Away win: 19/4
Betting Tip: The Yellow Submarines have been submerged below the surface since the start of the season having won just one of their last five outings. A pair of defeats in the champions league will have done little to ease matters and Zaragoza will fancy their chances of coming away from El Madrigal with at least the 14/5 draw.
Valencia v Granada
Home win: 3/10 Draw: 4/1 Away win: 9/1
Betting Tip: Granada are going to have a job on their hands to stay in La Liga and Valencia will expose the gulf in class on Saturday. Los Che have deservedly held Barcelona and Chelsea to draws in their last two games at the Mestalla but will convert one point into three against the Andalusian minnows. Red hot Roberto Soldado could fill his boots so 11/4 looks long for him to score at least twice.
Malaga v Getafe
Home win: 3/5 Draw: 14/5 Away win: 9/2
Betting Tip: Big spending Malaga have got into the swing of things after an opening day defeat. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have won three of their last four and they will chalk up another victory on home turf against Getafe who last time out shocked league leaders Real Betis. There’s no value in the home win at 11/20 but Santi Cazorla looks tempting at 9/5 to score at any time.
Saturday 2nd October
Real Sociedad v Athletic Bilbao
Home win: 7/5 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 9/5
Betting Tip: Bilbao are suffering from the hangover of last year’s lofty sixth place finish and have yet to record a league victory so far this term. However, a morale boosting win over PSG in the Europa League could help kick start their La Liga campaign. Sociedad are unbeaten at home so far including a spirited draw with Barca. That record will stay intact but they’ll have to make do with a share of the spoils at 12/5.
Real Betis v Levante
Home win: 3/4 Draw: 13/5 Away win: 7/2
Betting Tip: You would have got long odds on these two being in first and third place at this stage of the season, and both are there on merit. Betis’ blistering start to life back in La Liga was slightly curtailed last weekend by Getafe and Levante are one of only three teams still unbeaten. Betis can end that record here but it will be close. Betis to win with over 2.5 goals in the game is available at a tasty 9/5.
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla
Home win: 19/20 Draw: 5/2 Away win: 27/10
Betting Tip: You never know what you’re going to get from Atletico – even if their annual drubbing at Barcelona came as no surprise. At home Atletico have been solid, winning five of six and scoring ten in their last three outings at the Vicente Calderon. Sevilla are still unbeaten but have only chalked up a pair of draws on their travels. Back the prolific Radamel Falcao to open the scoring at 4/1 to set up an Atletico win.
Sporting Gijon v Barcelona
Home win: 13/1 Draw: 13/2 Away win: 3/20
Betting Tip: Barcelona will walk this so it’s all about who scores and how many. The world’s best team have knocked in ten goals in their last two games and Lionel Messi has scored five of them. The little Argentine is preposterously overpriced at 17/10 to score two or more against La Liga’s basement boys.
Espanyol v Real Madrid
Home win: 19/2 Draw: 9/2 Away win: 13/50
Betting Tip: Real Madrid look to have overcome the wobble of a few weeks back when they were beaten by Levante and held by Santander without scoring in either. Los Blancos have plundered nine in successive wins over Rayo Vallecano and Ajax and they will be on the goal trail once again at Espanyol. Mourinho’s men are 29/20 to win with over 3.5 goals in the game.
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Leeds v Portsmouth betting tips
In a game involving Leeds United and Portsmouth it seems cruelly ironic to be talking about sensible investments, but unlike these two fiscal disasters you won’t end up in administration if you back Leeds to win with goals galore.
Simon Grayson’s side are only loitering in 13th because of patchy away form but on home turf it’s been a different ball game.
The Whites have won their last three Championship games at Elland Road, scoring nine times in the process, and bwin’s 3Way football betting market has them at a generous 17/20 to keep that run going against poor old Pompey.
The south-coast crisis club won the FA Cup a little over three years ago so it shows the depths they’ve plummeted to that you can now have them at 3/1 to beat a side who were two leagues below them during happy Harry Redknapp’s opulent reign. The draw is at 12/5.
Leeds score and concede in equal measure and so far their eight league fixtures have thrown up an unfeasibly high 31 goals – with 13 coming in their last three home games.
Portsmouth’s ties are also averaging close to three per game so it seems silly not to go for over 3.5 goals in this one at 33/20.
Moreover, these two also have a proclivity for saving the strikes until after the interval. Leeds have scored 16 times in their eight second halves so far and eight out of ten Pompey goals have come following boss Steve Cotterill’s half-time recommendations.
You can more than double your money at 21/20 that the second half will contain the most goals, with good returns to be had on over 1.5 goals at 83/100 and over 2.5 goals at 13/5 to be scored after they’ve swapped ends.
Spending £7m on Seth Johnson may not have been the best bit of business but putting a couple of quid on a Leeds win with goals would be.
Football betting fans can receive a £25 free bet when they join bwin.com and putting that on a Leeds win with over 3.5 goals in the game at 13/4 would return an impressive £106.25.
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La Liga weekend betting preview
John Baines takes a look at this week's Spanish league action for bwinbetting.com.
Real Sociedad v Barcelona
Home win: 15/1 Draw: 25/4 Away win: 3/20
Betting Tip: Barca got the defence of their La Liga crown underway in ominous fashion with a 5-0 rout of Villarreal. Although Sociedad recorded an impressive 2-1 win at Gijon, they will be no match for Pep Guardiola’s superstars. Back Barca to win with over 3.5 combined goals in the game at 13/10.
Villarreal v Sevilla
Home win: 23/20 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 9/4
Betting Tip: The yellow submarines were sunk by Barca on the opening day but now face a more realistic test against Sevilla. Los Nervionenses got up and running with an impressive victory over big spending Malaga, but with Villarreal solid on home turf a draw seems the best bet at 12/5.
Real Madrid v Getafe
Home win: 7/100 Draw: 35/4 Away win: 22/1
Betting Tip: Real scored six last week to trump Barca’s five to prove this seasons La Liga will be another two team precession. Getafe could only draw at home to Levante and the sooner they get this game out of the way the better. Give Getafe a 2-0 start and Real will still win at 31/50.
Valencia v Atletico Madrid
Home win: 17/20 Draw: 27/10 Away win: 14/5
Betting Tip: Valencia are arguably La Liga’s ‘best of the rest’ but had to come from 3-1 down to eventually beat Racing Santander 4-3 last weekend. Atletico have undergone yet another summer overhaul and the unfamiliarity showed in a tepid 0-0 draw with Osasuna. Punt on Valencia to win with over 2.5 goals in the game at 17/10.
Sunday September 11th
Real Betis v Mallorca
Home win: 17/20 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 13/4
Betting Tip: Betis and Mallorca are expected to be fighting for survival but both got their campaigns underway with narrow 1-0 wins over Granada and Espanyol respectively. The draw at 12/5 looks good value and with not many goals likely, you might want to predict a 1-1 at 21/4.
Racing Santander v Levante
Home win: 11/10 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 12/5
Betting Tip: Racing had threatened to pull off the shock of the weekend when leading Valencia 3-1 at the Mestalla but they eventually crumbled 4-3. Levante gained a creditable draw away at Getafe and are unbeaten on their last four trips to the Estadio El Sardinero. More than double your money on the draw at 23/10.
Osasuna v Sporting Gijon
Home win: 4/5 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 7/2
Betting Tip: Gijon won just twice on the road last season and they’ll have a job getting off the mark against an Osasuna side who are notoriously difficult to beat on their own patch. Osasuna held Atletico to a goalless draw in week one and have won this fixture 1-0 in the previous two encounters. Lump on Osasuna to win with less than 2.5 combined goals in the game at 5/2.
Rayo Vallecano v Real Zaragoza
Home win: 23/20 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 23/10
Betting Tip: Zaragoza got spanked 6-0 at home to Real Madrid last weekend but little can be gleaned from results against La Liga’s two super clubs. Rayo marked their return to the top flight with a solid 1-1 draw in Bilbao but seem too short to back at 23/20. Games between promoted sides and those who finished in the bottom half are difficult to call. Play safe by backing any side to win by a one goal margin at 5/4.
Espanyol v Athletic Bilbao
Home win: 7/5 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 37/20
Betting Tip: Espanyol got off to a disappointing start with a 1-0 defeat in Mallorca but can now fall back on their strong home form against Bilbao. The men from the Basque country could only muster a 1-1 draw against newly promoted Rayo and have an awful record away to the Blanquiblaus – losing on their last five visits. Have three guesses at a correct Espanyol winning scoreline by backing them to triumph 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 at 3/1.
Monday September 12th
Malaga v Granada
Home win: 21/50 Draw: 333/100 Away win: 13/2
Betting Tip: The multi-million pound Qatari investment into Malaga has made them one of the most talked about teams in La Liga since the end of last season, but they failed to live up to the hype on the opening day going down 2-1 at Sevilla. Promoted Granada are likely to struggle all year and will prove to be the type of fodder Malaga need to get themselves up and running. Bet on new signing Ruud van Nistelrooy to score at any time at 11/10.
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Home win: 15/1 Draw: 25/4 Away win: 3/20
Betting Tip: Barca got the defence of their La Liga crown underway in ominous fashion with a 5-0 rout of Villarreal. Although Sociedad recorded an impressive 2-1 win at Gijon, they will be no match for Pep Guardiola’s superstars. Back Barca to win with over 3.5 combined goals in the game at 13/10.
Villarreal v Sevilla
Home win: 23/20 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 9/4
Betting Tip: The yellow submarines were sunk by Barca on the opening day but now face a more realistic test against Sevilla. Los Nervionenses got up and running with an impressive victory over big spending Malaga, but with Villarreal solid on home turf a draw seems the best bet at 12/5.
Real Madrid v Getafe
Home win: 7/100 Draw: 35/4 Away win: 22/1
Betting Tip: Real scored six last week to trump Barca’s five to prove this seasons La Liga will be another two team precession. Getafe could only draw at home to Levante and the sooner they get this game out of the way the better. Give Getafe a 2-0 start and Real will still win at 31/50.
Valencia v Atletico Madrid
Home win: 17/20 Draw: 27/10 Away win: 14/5
Betting Tip: Valencia are arguably La Liga’s ‘best of the rest’ but had to come from 3-1 down to eventually beat Racing Santander 4-3 last weekend. Atletico have undergone yet another summer overhaul and the unfamiliarity showed in a tepid 0-0 draw with Osasuna. Punt on Valencia to win with over 2.5 goals in the game at 17/10.
Sunday September 11th
Real Betis v Mallorca
Home win: 17/20 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 13/4
Betting Tip: Betis and Mallorca are expected to be fighting for survival but both got their campaigns underway with narrow 1-0 wins over Granada and Espanyol respectively. The draw at 12/5 looks good value and with not many goals likely, you might want to predict a 1-1 at 21/4.
Racing Santander v Levante
Home win: 11/10 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 12/5
Betting Tip: Racing had threatened to pull off the shock of the weekend when leading Valencia 3-1 at the Mestalla but they eventually crumbled 4-3. Levante gained a creditable draw away at Getafe and are unbeaten on their last four trips to the Estadio El Sardinero. More than double your money on the draw at 23/10.
Osasuna v Sporting Gijon
Home win: 4/5 Draw: 12/5 Away win: 7/2
Betting Tip: Gijon won just twice on the road last season and they’ll have a job getting off the mark against an Osasuna side who are notoriously difficult to beat on their own patch. Osasuna held Atletico to a goalless draw in week one and have won this fixture 1-0 in the previous two encounters. Lump on Osasuna to win with less than 2.5 combined goals in the game at 5/2.
Rayo Vallecano v Real Zaragoza
Home win: 23/20 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 23/10
Betting Tip: Zaragoza got spanked 6-0 at home to Real Madrid last weekend but little can be gleaned from results against La Liga’s two super clubs. Rayo marked their return to the top flight with a solid 1-1 draw in Bilbao but seem too short to back at 23/20. Games between promoted sides and those who finished in the bottom half are difficult to call. Play safe by backing any side to win by a one goal margin at 5/4.
Espanyol v Athletic Bilbao
Home win: 7/5 Draw: 23/10 Away win: 37/20
Betting Tip: Espanyol got off to a disappointing start with a 1-0 defeat in Mallorca but can now fall back on their strong home form against Bilbao. The men from the Basque country could only muster a 1-1 draw against newly promoted Rayo and have an awful record away to the Blanquiblaus – losing on their last five visits. Have three guesses at a correct Espanyol winning scoreline by backing them to triumph 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 at 3/1.
Monday September 12th
Malaga v Granada
Home win: 21/50 Draw: 333/100 Away win: 13/2
Betting Tip: The multi-million pound Qatari investment into Malaga has made them one of the most talked about teams in La Liga since the end of last season, but they failed to live up to the hype on the opening day going down 2-1 at Sevilla. Promoted Granada are likely to struggle all year and will prove to be the type of fodder Malaga need to get themselves up and running. Bet on new signing Ruud van Nistelrooy to score at any time at 11/10.
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Get on both teams to score in Leeds-Palace clash
The Elland Road natives are restless and it’s not just with Chairman Ken. Leeds are perched at the wrong end of the Championship table and Crystal Palace will fancy their chances of taking the points on Saturday.
Dougie Freedman’s men are unbeaten since the first day of the campaign, winning three and drawing one of their last four outings.
In contrast, Leeds have won just once and lost three, so given the contradictions in form bwin’s 3Way football betting market have the Eagles at a very generous 33/10 to swoop to victory in West Yorkshire.
However, traditionally this fixture has been a home banker, with the hosts sending the visitors packing the last five times the sides have met.
Leeds’ previous match at Elland Road saw them rout Hull City 4-1 and the other tie in front of their own fans was more than influenced by the hapless refereeing of Anthony Taylor against Middlesbrough.
If you fancy Leeds to carry on the trend of whipping the welcome mat away, they can be backed at 4/5, with the draw an enticing 12/5.
In a league where you expect the unexpected, about as close as you can come to a certainty is that there will be goals between these two.
Last year, Leeds’ porous defence conceded 70 times despite them finishing seventh and those frailties have seen them ship in another nine in five games this time around.
Palace have scored at least once in every game so far and Leeds have scored in all bar one. You can boost your bank balance by betting on both teams to score at 18/25 or over 2.5 goals in the match at 7/10.
Punters who sign up for a bwin account are entitled to a £25 free bet and utilising that on both teams to score in the first half will return you a cool £102.50.
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Tuesday, 23 August 2011
At 9/2 can Sheff Utd produce another second half surge?
You can only hope that the British summertime takes it’s lead from Sheffield United and delivers the goods better late than never.
Danny Wilson’s men find themselves joint top of League One after winning their first three games but it’s largely been down to the effect of the half-time oranges. In all three league matches this season, Sheffield United have been drawing at the break before coming on strong to win. Eight of their nine goals have been scored after the interval and last time out they were 2-0 down at home to Walsall before a late rally gave them the points.
On Saturday the Blades travel to fellow second-half specialists Tranmere Rovers in a match which has all the makings of a slow burner. The boys from Birkenhead have been equally sluggish, scoring six of their seven goals in the second half and incredibly, five of the six league ties these two have been involved in so far have been 0-0 after the first 45 minutes.
Nothing’s certain in life apart from death, taxes and Tranmere-Sheff Utd to be a first half draw. With bwin’s halftime/fulltime football betting market back the Blades at 9/2 to continue their sequence and edge this one after the restart.
However, after a succession of lacklustre opening periods either side could be quick out of the traps. If you fancy going against the grain you can more than double your money (21/10) on Sheff Utd to win the first half, and almost treble it (13/5) if you reckon Tranmere can find their feet first.
The outright match-winner with bwin’s 3Way football betting market follows much the same themes with Sheff United 27/20 to win the game over the 90, with Tranmere at 17/10 and the draw at 9/4.
Tranmere themselves are sat in sixth after winning two of their first three fixtures, but the Blades will be too sharp for them and will edge this by the odd goal.
New customers who sign up for a bwin account are entitled to a £25 free bet and utilising that on a 2-1 Sheff Utd win at 20/1, would cash you £500.
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John Baines
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Gunners losing faith as empire crumbles
TEAMtalk guest John Baines says Arsene Wenger's obsession with the future is costing Arsenal now, and pinpoints five potential Gunners targets.
The dust has only just settled on the first weekend of the new Premier League campaign and already we have a potentially unbeatable understatement of the season.
As Arsene Wenger mused over his selection problems ahead of Arsenal's pivotal Champions League qualifier against Udinese, the Frenchman admitted he was looking to, "bring in one or two players because we are a bit short."
The startling admission came at roughly the same time skipper Cesc Fabregas was finalising his protracted move to Barcelona, relieving the Gunners of their best player and further swelling the ever increasing club coffers.
The relative trajectories of the team and clubs literal fortunes climaxed in the first evidence of public dissidence against the Wenger regime from high up the ramparts of St. James' Park on Saturday evening.
"Spend some ******* money" came the cry from the visiting support, the chant tinged with anger and insistence. Football fans can often be partizan, pessimistic, defiant or delusional but they can rarely be fooled by what they can see happening to their club.
Seven years ago on Monday, the 2004 Arsenal invincibles began the defence of their title away at Everton. David Moyes men were swept aside 4-1 by a fluid torrent of trademark attacking movement. Seventeen-year-old Fabregas was the only relative novice in a side largely in it's pomp. In Messrs Cole, Silva, Ljungberg, Pires, Bergkamp and Henry, Wenger had a nucleus of players that was the envy of the Premier League.
With Fabregas now gone and Nasri going, arguably only Robin van Persie of the current crop could be afforded such a tag. The Arsenal decline is not only evident in their six year silverware solitude, but in the slim prospects of ending that any time soon, with rivals having caught up and passed the Gunners.
Financial prudence was always of paramount importance to the board as they oversaw the move to the Emirates Stadium. Wenger's virtues of pure football and youth development have undoubtedly given the club a stable footing for generations to come but such ideologies have contriubuted to the lack of tangible success since the ribbon was cut on Ashburton Grove.
As The Emirates was being constructed, the Arsenal team has been gradually de-constructed and never sufficiently replenished to the point they now languish badly behind their rivals. From the zenith of 2004, Wenger's disciples have gradually diminished in number. The 'In Arsene we trust' banner will still hang around the stadium but many are questioning the motif.
The longer Wenger clings to his utopian footballing dreamworld, the further Arsenal will fall behind the sides who have the intent to win trophies. The undeniable fact amongst all the incendries about fiscal responsibility and ensuring a long-term livelihood is that Arsenal simply do not match the ambition of other clubs in their will to win major honours, and this is the major grievance amongst the detractors.
To the ire of the aggitated Gunners who see their team slipping further from the pinnacle of English football, Wenger's decrying of the transfer market is falling on deaf ears.
Ahead of the Udinese game Wenger was further pressed on his reticence to reinvest in the team, and opined: "We are not frightened to spend money but we have to be convinced that the player is better than what we have."
Given the paucity of quality on show at Saturday's dire draw with Newcastle, those players should not be too hard to find.
However, the notion of quality for monetary quantity is another sticking point with Wenger constantly rebuffing aproaches for particular players based on the fee needed to procure them. Already this summer, advances for Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Christopher Samba have been shelved as Wenger does not believe their price tags give value for money.
But in offering inflated fees as an excuse not to buy only opens him to further inquisitions. If a much needed proven Premier League centre-half is overpriced at £15m, how can an untried and untested Championship protege be worth the same? And if you are being quoted high, why embark on a one man mission to add some reality to the market? Cesc Fabregas for the price of Andy Carroll?
Of course Wenger does business with the long term in mind but those who focus too far into the future risk missing out on the present, and inadvertently, Wenger's neglecting of the present could hinder the club's future. How long will the likes of van Persie and Jack Wilshere hang about with scant chances of competing for top prizes.
The £100m he boasted of having a few years back has been largely unspent and the nigh-on £70m return he will receive for the sales of Gael Clichy, Fabregas and eventually Nasri will again leave the Gunners with a net transfer gain to the detriment of the playing side.
There is no doubt investment must be made in the playing staff. Bargains might be thin on the ground, but there are plenty of players out there who would immediately stregthen the Gunners:
Gary Cahill (Bolton £15m) - Cahill is the rough-tough english centre half that Arsenal have been missing since Sol Campbell passed his peak. Bolton's valuation may be a touch high but at 25 and with his best years ahead, Cahill could be the defensive lynchpin the side desperately requires.
Marcelo (Real Madrid £15m) - Real Madrid's left-back is likely to be usurped from his slot by the arrival of Fabio Coentrao and thus could be available as Real seek to recoup another massive summer outlay. Suspect defensively but dangerous going forward, the Brazilian would fit the template of the mobile full-backs which Wenger favours.
Scott Parker (West Ham £8m) - Parker's patrolling style would add more steel to the side and his presence would protect the back four whilst allowing others licence to get forward. Available and reasonably priced, Parker may not have much re-sale value but would represent a snip after a couple of years service. Not a Wenger footballer but would improve the side as a whole.
Juan Mata (Valencia £30m) - Wenger's dithering cost the club the opportunity to get Mata for a knock-down £22m before a clause expired in his contract earlier this summer. The Spanish flanker's creativity would be needed to replace that lost by Fabregas and Nasri's departures, but Wenger will be loathe to spend the amount now required to prise Mata away from Valencia.
Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla £20m) - The Spanish striker would be the less arrogant, goalscoring version of Nicklas Bendtner - minus the pink boots. The former Real Madrid B player has scored 63 league goals in his last 143 La Liga games and is considered as one of the most complete strikers in Spain.
Who do you think Wenger should splash his cash on? Have your say using the story comment facility below.
Modric wouldn't solve Blues' lack of width
TEAMtalk guest John Baines believes Chelsea need a specialist winger more than Luka Modric - and suggests five potential targets.
New manager, same side, similar failings. Andre Villas-Boas is the fresh-faced tactician charged with revitalising a stale Chelsea, but after his first competitive game in charge it was evident that the side he has inherited are very much stuck in their old ways.
The pattern was very familiar as last season's Premier League runners-up were held to a 0-0 opening draw against a resilient Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday. In isolation, a point in such surroundings was not a bad one given the hostility visiting teams face when coming to these parts, but the superiority the Blues held in possession gave scope for greater gains.
After weathering the inevitable early onslaught from the hosts, Chelsea increasingly forged a stranglehold on the game but barring a fine Asmir Begovic save, a weak Salomon Kalou header and a couple of either way penalty shouts, Villas-Boas' men created few clear-cut opportunities to have genuine grievances about the outcome.
Even with Fernando Torres brimming, the predictability in Chelsea's attacking manoeuvres was too easy for the feisty Potters to countenance. Devoid of enough width and tempo, the regimental resilience of Stoke's defending was infrequently turned or tormented, their cause aided and abetted by the congestion the Londoners created for themselves.
The introductions of Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba did nothing but thicken the middle malaise as the futility of the approach drew wild gesticulations from Villas-Boas. The frustrations of player, manager and fans only served to further highlight the necessity to find one player who can provide one moment to turn one point into three.
The summer-long pursuit of Luka Modric will likely intensify after another performance in which Chelsea resembled a toothless tiger - knocking on the door inquisitively rather than with insistence.
But should the pursuit of Modric prevail, how differently would things fare with the Croatian schemer in the side?
Villas-Boas has made little secret of the desire to keep his and his squad's preferred 4-3-3 as the modus operandi, yet the Modric acquisition would do nothing to rectify the major failings of their version of this particular system.
Whilst Modric of course does possess the subtlety and craft to pick passes which can unlock massed defences, Chelsea's fundamental flaw at present is a chronic lack of width to sufficiently stretch opposition defences to breaking point. Any combination of their flanked forwards have a proclivity to drift infield and thus create the sort of bottleneck which suffocates the team. As time ticked on at the Brit, so did the tally of attacks snuffed out within the width of the 18-yard box.
Instead of shelling out for Modric, Villas-Boas would be better served with a touchline hugging winger - somebody to provide the necessary width, pace and penetration to replicate the Duff-Robben duoploy that led the Blues to back-to-back titles under Jose Mourinho.
The integration of such a player into the line-up would be a double-edged attacking sword. Not only would the wideman offer their own attacking outlet, but the positioning of a genuine winger makes the pitch bigger and wider, creating space elsewhere for others to thrive and for the opposition to cover.
One of the features of how Stoke on Sunday and others previously are able to defend against Chelsea is that the back four can narrow and restrict gaps in between each other. The space Fernando Torres is supposed to be furrowing is plugged by the inability of the Chelsea side to create it in the first place.
Regardless of how good Modric is, in the current set-up he would be confined to the same spacial limitations which is prohibiting Chelsea at present.
So I've come up with five alternative transfers Chelsea could explore:
Marko Marin (Werder Bremen, approximate fee: £15m)
The little German flyer would be ideal and available. Quick and direct, Marin commits defenders and causes endless problems for full-backs as Vedran Corluka will testify to after Spurs' Champions League meeting with Werder last season.
Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur, £20m)
Potentially more saleable from Spurs and arguably the type of player Chelsea need more than another central midfielder. Lennon's roadrunner style would enable the Blues to turn defences and even if his output isn't all it should be, his presence immediately alters the mindset of defences and put teams on the back foot.
Milos Krasic (Juventus, £25m)
Not a prolific scorer, Krasic is a touchline winger or orthodox right-midfielder whose pace and guile creates ample opportunities for others. The Serbian only arrived at the Olimpico at the start of last season but was one of the only positive aspects of another dire season for the Bianconeri. A seventh-placed finish means no European football this year and the financially stable footing the Turin giants once held is starting to slip.
Pedro (Barcelona, £25m)
The arrivals of Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas at the Camp Nou may mean Pedro will have his first-team opportunities restricted this term and Barca could be willing to recoup some of their summer splurge. The Spanish international offers the sort of intuitive trickery currently missing from Chelsea's current batch of wide forwards and combines this with a prolific goal-scoring record.
Juan Mata (Valencia, £20m)
Only Arsene Wenger would be reticent to pay £20m for one of the most talented young attacking midfielders in the world, with an eye for goal and a repertoire of tricks and flicks to mesmerise most defenders. Mata notched up a catalogue of assists in La Liga last year, and could be the perfect foil to extract the best out of his la Roja amigo Fernando Torres.
Boro good value at 11/5 to edge out Leeds
Leeds attempts to return to the Premier League have suffered a slippery start. Will Middlesbrough add to their woes n Saturday?
After finishing last season one place outside of the play-offs, Simon Grayson hoped this season would see Leeds marching on together back into the big time.
But after an opening-day hiding at Southampton, it suddenly seemed a more likely route out of the Championship would be through the trapdoor.
The Whites were lucky to only lose 3-1 down on the south coast with Andy O’Brien looking every bit the rusty 32-year-old Premier League relic.
They shipped in two more goals in the narrow midweek Carling Cup win over Bradford and bwin’s 3Way football betting market has them at a short-priced 21/20 to get their campaign going over Tony Mowbray’s Middlesbrough.
The Teesiders only got themselves off to a draw against crisis club Portsmouth – who could only name four substitutes for the game.
They fared better in their Carling Cup clash, breezing past Walsall 3-0 with dynamic dutchman Marvin Emnes grabbing a hat-trick to add to the opening-day strike he got against Pompey.
Leeds are notoriously porous at the back having conceded 70 times in the Championship last year and without the goals of Davide Somma, Luciano Becchio and Billy Paynter, you can back Emnes and the Boro boys at an enticing 11/5 to add to Grayson’s gripes, with the draw also priced at 11/5.
Furthermore, Boro have a decent record when winding down the north Yorkshire A-roads. They drew 1-1 at Elland Road last season and the last time Leeds beat them on home turf was back in 2002, when tweeting was just a twinkle in Rio Ferdinand’s eye.
With Leeds’ dodgy defence and stricken strikers, back Boro to edge it. New customers who sign up for a bwin account are entitled to a £25 free bet and utilising that on a 2-1 Middlesbrough win could bring you home a tasty £287.50.
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john.baines@bwinbetting.com
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Long live the Kun
Sergio Aguero has been at Manchester City’s Carrington training ground today dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s on his £38m transfer from Atletico Madrid.
The Argentine international will comfortably break the Citizen’s transfer record of £32.5m - paid in 2008 for Robinho - and is expected to sign five-year contract within the next 24 hours pending a medical and other contractual formalities.
The deal has been concluded in relatively quick time with City matching Atletico’s reasonable £38m release fee as soon as ‘Kun’ returned from Argentina’s disastrous Copa America campaign.
Aguero had long been identified by Roberto Mancini as the successor to compatriot Carlos Tevez in the City team. Prior to any bid being submitted for Aguero, the club did suggest that a deal for the 23-year-old would be funded through the sale of Tevez with the Argentine duo effectively replacing one another.
However, what has actually happened or what is going to happen to Carlitos remains very much uncertain. After Tevez’s transfer to Corinthians broke down, there has been little other ulterior interest in the former club captain and it looks increasingly like the Aguero deal will be independent of any Tevez sale.
Quite how this shapes the balance of the City squad will become more apparent as the season’s kick-off approaches. Tevez remains adamant his future lies away from Manchester and given his reluctance to return to the city and his reticence to reappear for the club, the Aguero signing could be the final nail in Tevez’s City coffin.
But of course the matter isn’t as cut and dry as that as City still have £50m of surplus stock sat doing nothing whilst a supremely gifted yet slightly dysfunctional 27-year-old footballer wastes away. Given his conduct, there will be few sympathies from the Sky Blue faithful but for as long as he is still contractually obliged to the club, Tevez remains an elephant in the room.
It’s perhaps then a statement of intent from the club that they have not been left pondering over their top-scorer and skipper and have moved swiftly to replace the man who has spearheaded the team for the past two seasons. The Tevez situation could have quickly became an unwelcome distraction for as long as his transfer saga rumbled on and for as long as a replacement was sought, but Aguero’s capture proves that there will be little convalescing over a moody Argie.
The comparisons between Tevez and Aguero are blindingly obvious. Short stocky frames mask big personalities and a penalty box prowess reminiscent of other vertically challenged predators such as Gerd Muller and Romario. In five seasons at Atletico, Aguero has knocked in an impressive 102 goals in 234 games, but even those statistics are hazed by arriving in La Liga as an inexperienced 18 year-old as back up for Fernando Torres.
In the four seasons since Aguero took over Torres’s striking mantle, the former Independiente ace has hit 95 goals in just 202 games. Just short of one in two at an average close to 25 a season in a team that has consistently fell below expectation makes light work of the nigh on £40m outlay.
Aguero also doesn’t come with plenty of things Tevez does contain, mainly an attitude problem and a pair of chips on either shoulder. Aguero’s hardly Gary Neville but his relationship with Atletico has been exemplary since arriving from his homeland, and despite consistently being linked with a move to bigger and better climbs, Diego Maradona’s son-in-law has afforded respect to a club which has given him the grounding to achieve what he has. The elder statesman could learn a little from the heir apparent.
Taken in isolation there are few negatives about the signing of Sergio Aguero, and all facets of his game suggest he should be able to adapt to the rigours of english football and the anglo-italian style of Manchester City. Overall the Aguero coup represents a very good bit of business for Manchester City. The fee is the going rate, the age and attitude favour player and club and the on-field record suggests he can replicate what will be lost with Tevez mooching about in Tenerife or wherever else he deems to be better than Manchester.
There were worries that City would be unable to replace what Tevez brought to the team and the detrimental effect that having your best player and captain walk out on you would have, but the Aguero arrival has erradicated any notion that City are any poorer for Tevez absconding. The King is dead, long live the ‘Kun’.
Monday, 25 July 2011
Football's great own-goal
Premier League chief Executive Richard Scudamore has indicated that goal-line technology could be introduced as early as next season, but will the league really be a better place without officiating errors?
Barely a weekend goes by when the fallout is not dominated by the referee or his wingmen being dragged over the coals by fans, players, managers or the media. It seems the only people who aren’t allowed to make human errors are the blokes with more instinctive individual decisions to make than any one player.
In his annual Premier League report which is distributed to Parliament this week, Scudamore said, “The whole point of the game is about scoring goals. Players and managers careers can be defined by them.”
“The technology is available, it is the fairness that is important and the Premier League would introduce it tomorrow if it could. Now FIFA is constructively engaged, we are hopeful the 2012/13 season is a realistic aim.”
The debate over using technology to aid referees is one which never goes away yet in just those few sentences, Scudamore paraphrased the whole contradictory argument that introducing goal-line technology would help to make the footballing world a better place.
As Scudamore ignorantly assesses - the whole game is about scoring goals. Of course it isn’t, but as he’d only been involved in football for two years prior to accepting the £800,000p.a CEO position with the Premier League in 1999, we’ll let him off.
Football is much more than that, much more than life and death if you quote the late, great Bill Shankly, but without wanting to confuse Scudamore any further we’ll stick to the broad principles of scoring goals.
Scudamore’s proposals are based around the age old desire to have cameras or micro-chips or something similar placed into the posts to check whether a ball went over the line or not. Fine. Fairly self-explanatory. But would that be the end of it? Seamless officiating which would end ‘player and managers career defining moments?’ If fairness is important in the Premier League would the end of dubious goal-line decisions ensure complete fairness throughout the league? Certainly not.
Without being armed with statistics, it is easily argued that the amount of goal-line decisions concluded incorrectly pale into insignificance compared to marginal offside calls, dodgy penalties, iffy red cards, soft free-kicks and wrongly awarded corners that invariably lead to dozens of goals and shape countless games through the campaign. And how would Scudamore ensure fairness for incidents like these? Well, he wouldn’t. You’d just have to continue to take these ‘unfair’ decisions on the chin. Fair enough.
Confusingly, there only seems to be a desire to introduce goal-line technology into football from many parties, Scudamore and the general consensus of fans included. Part of the reason for the ongoing reticence to implement widespread technology in assisting referees is because there is great confusion over what should and should not be allowed to be interfered with. But the problems of halfway-house interference like goal-line technology would invariably cause more problems than it would solve, and as such, is best left alone.
The analogies to sports like tennis and cricket are made with positivity to influence the arrival of technological assistance in football, but those sports and the way decisions are derived in those sports are completely different to football.
Tennis, for example. The ball is either in or it’s out. In theory this is similar to football, was it or wasn’t it over the line? But the peripheral decisions in football mean there is always the possibility that the final decision on something as black and white as whether the ball crossed the line can easily be turned grey.
In tennis, there can’t be a handball or a foul, an offside or obstruction. In practice, it’s a great benefit to definitively know whether the ball went in or not, but what happens when the computer says ‘yes’ to one thing but the restrictions placed on the reach of video technology could not intervene when something else becomes apparent.
For example, is it beyond the realms of possibility that when having a look whether the ball went over the line or not, an offside or a handball is spotted in the build up to the shot? The limitations of technology being restricted to goal-line decisions means additional incidents could not be reviewed. In theory, you could have a goal that wasn’t given, that upon reflection shouldn’t have been given anyway, but is given because the ball did cross the line. You can’t imagine many associated with the ill-done by team taking that with much grace.
You could feasibly extend the jurisdiction to include incidents leading up to the goal-bound effort in question, but that only opens questions about why incidents could only be reviewed during a close goal-line call, and soon things would become very messy.
Bowing to ‘only’ introducing goal-line cameras would be the thin end of the wedge, and without doubt would eventually lead to further interferences elsewhere. It only takes one major incident to spark and ignite the many cinders of smaller claims which gather each and every week and before long, we would be refereed by some Pontius Pilate overlord sat like a Bond-villain in front of a wall of screens. Not exactly jumpers for goalposts.
Many decisions are far from clear cut which is why the idea of policing our game through the introduction of cameras and technology is a futile idea. Far too many of the disputed decisions are just that, disputed. There are victims and perpetrators and never can anybody be fully appeased. We cannot wholly eradicate error from our officiating, and if even the most sophisticated schemes will still lead to dispute, controversy and more Jamie Redknapp, why change and devalue our sport in the first place?
Only recently UEFA President Michel Platini insisted that the continents governing body are not seeking to turn to technology in order to eradicate mistakes from officiating. He talked down the introduction of goal-line cameras and video refereeing referral systems, as they would lead to ‘playstation football’. Quite what he meant by referencing the name of a key and lucrative Champions League sponsor isn’t that clear, although we get the picture. The UEFA stance is that they are happy enough to have the game officiated by humans, which will invariably lead to human error - very apt coming from UEFA.
The other more thought provoking reason for opposing technology is an ethical one. For decades games have been won and lost because of refereeing mistakes, so what makes this generation any more deserving of justice? Of course, the cash rewards on offer are far greater than at any period of the game but who stands to be made even richer from these correct calls? It’s certainly not the working class man, his son and his son’s son who’ve followed the team for generations.
To think that today’s football is any more important than any previous days is arrogant and egotistical. We do not need complete and utter fairness in our system, it has never been that way yet that has never diminished, only fueled the appeal of football as a sport. If somebody wins a game through good fortune, so be it. The record books show the winners, but it does not tell the whole picture of the piece of the unfortunate finalists or hard done by underdogs undone by a dodgy goal somewhere buried in the annals of time. Behind every winner there are losers and those losses can be unfair. But isn’t life? Is that why we relate so well to fate and fortune in football?
Swings and roundabouts and rubs of the green. Doesn’t it just make our sport better? After all, it’s not a matter of life and death.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Manchester United news
Carrick: We all need to make up for Scholes loss
Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick believes the whole of the United squad must chip together to fill the void left by Paul Scholes’s retirement.
Scholes hung up his boots this summer after a glittering 17 year career at Old Trafford, leading Sir Alex Ferguson to speculate that he would be impossible to replace.
Ferguson has opted against moves for Luka Modric, Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri to take over the Scholes role, leading Carrick to suggest the team would have to compensate collectively for the loss.
“Paul bring’s so much to the team, he’s a world class player. When we lost Cristiano Ronaldo a few years ago people didn’t think we’d get over it but different players step up - maybe it’s not one player but we share the responsibility.”
Ferguson: Sunderland messed Gibson about
Sir Alex Ferguson has taken a swipe at sunderland for Darron Gibson’s failed move to the Stadium of Light.
The Republic of Ireland midfielder was widely expected to be the third United player to join the Black Cats following the arrival of Wes Brown and John O’Shea. However, after the two clubs agreed a fee the move collapsed after Sunderland could not agree personal terms with the player.
It has now left Gibson in the cold at United and without a viable club to move to leaving Ferguson to fume, “He was on the point of going when somewhere along the line Sunderland moved the goalposts.”
“From what i can gather, they gave him an offer and then changed it. That annoyed Darron and I think he’s quite right.”
Diouf off to the Seaside
United forward Mame Biram Diouf is being lined up for a season long loan move to Blackpool.
The Senegalese international has failed to force himself into the Old Trafford first team reckoning but has been involved during the Reds pre-season tour of the United States.
Diouf has only featured for United six times since arriving at the start of 2010 but impressed during a loan spell at Blackburn Rovers last term.
The 23-year-old is expected to join the Seasiders on an initial loan with a view to a permanent move as boss Ian Holloway reshapes his playing staff following relegation from the Premier League.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Argentina camp focus - Argies come to life but still more needed
Argentina coach Sergio Batista will go with the same starting line-up which cruised past Costa Rica for tonight’s Copa America quarter final against Uruguay in Santa Fe.
Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Angel di Maria and Fernando Gago will all retain their places at the expense of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Carlos Tevez, Ever Banega and Esteban Cambiasso, with Batista keeping the 4-2-3-1 formation which saw la Albiceleste finally spark into life.
After a pair of appalling draws against Bolivia and Colombia in the first two games, the hosts and pre-tournament favourites were markedly improved for their must win final group tie with the unfancied Costa Ricans.
The 3-0 scoreline did not flatter Argentina who created numerous chances and attacked with more poise and penetration than demonstrated in the earlier games. The alteration to the shape gave Batista’s men a blend and balance which was also lacking an ultimately the additional width provided by di Maria and Aguero created the space for Lionel Messi to finally thrive.
Ironically it was Batista’s will to structure his team around Messi which led to the square-pegs in round hole selection of the opening fixtures with Tevez, Lavezzi and Messi milling about up front without much affect. The tactical tinkering to maneuver Messi into the ‘el diez’ number 10 role gave the side a dimension which the Costa Ricans simply could not cope with, and which the more defensively resolute Uruguay will have to cope with on Saturday night.
The whole team performance was more familiar of a traditional Argentinean performance with the ball being pinged around between comfortable ball players with space and options. In truth, the below strength ‘ticos’ were no match for Argentina who found themselves gaining some swagger as they eventually progressed to the business end of the competition.
The Uruguayan’s will provide a sterner test of the revitalisation both offensively and defensively. Last year’s World Cup semi-finalists have hardly hit peak form themselves but remain a dangerous proposition with a no-frills defensive unit providing the backbone to a host of talented match winners.
Oscar Taberez’s team followed a similar path to that of their illustrious opponents with two opening draws and a third game victory securing their path into the quarters. Despite the enticing striking options of Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan and Edison Cavani, la Celeste only mustered three goals in the group stages, two of those coming from midfield mauler Alvaro Pereira.
Argentina go into the game as favourites for the tie and the tournament, confidence restored from the smooth performance against Costa Rica. The heat upon Batista and the team has been relaxed given the context of the last win but the stubborn Uruguayans will provide a more thorough inspection of the new set-up.
The Costa Rica result essentially righted the wrongs of the Bolivia and Colombia games and with Batista eventually getting to where he should have been in the first place, the coach has earned a reprieve to be judged on what happens from here.
Monday, 11 July 2011
Batista goes back to basics for must win clash
It’s time for Sergio Batista and his merry men to stand up and deliver or face the indignity of an unprecedented failure on home turf as Argentina seek to kickstart their faltering Copa America campaign.
La Albiceleste know that only a win over Costa Rica will see them guaranteed a place in the knock-out stages and even that will only slightly lessen the noose the home fans and media have placed around the teams neck following toothless opening draws with Bolivia and Colombia.
These results only tell half of the tale because of more angst to the natives has been the nature of the performances, with Argentina devoid of any cohesion or penetration despite boasting one of the most enviable set of offensive players on the planet.
But such attacking stocks have eschewed Batista’s judgement. Round pegs in square holes across the six midfield and forward places has resulted in 180 minutes of disjointed football, many moons away from the fluidity of Barcelona that Batista set out to emulate.
With two lackluster showings in mind, Batista is set to re-jig his assets to suit the team rather than the individuals which supposedly made up the team. The 4-3-3 with Lionel Messi as a conventional central striker will be consigned to the circular filing cabinet in favour of a return to the traditional Argentine past-time of 4-2-3-1, with Messi reverting to an orthodox number 10 flanked by Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero giving the width behind Gonzalo Higuain as the most advance of the pack.
These wholesale changes could ordinarily be construed as a gamble given the necessity to win but it’s hard to see how the side could perform any worse than they’ve already demonstrated in Batista’s doomed Barca replica.
Ironically, this revised set-up is how Batista would have gone about things had he not buckled to internal pressures to shoehorn Carlos Tevez into the equation. Tevez will belatedly have to do with a place on the bench along with Ezequiel Lavezzi and either Ever Banega or Esteban Cambiasso as Batista attempts to try to find the balance to enable his side to play with the freedom and attacking guile he preached pre-tournament.
Such competitions are marathons rather than sprints and recent World Cup’s have demonstrated la Albiceleste’s proclivity for firework starts before burning out prematurely. A role reversal this time will be needed as there has been very few bright sparks about the slovenly start to this escapade.
Football’s connoisseurs will recall the hapless Italians coming good at Spain ’82 and the Germans regularly huffing and puffing through the meander before finding their stride, but in today’s ultra-expectant football society there is a demand for instant results and reward regardless of circumstance.
Even still, Batista will find few allies with the patience to put up with that analogy after the way things have gone so far, even if the Argentinian tortoise does end up eventually outrunning the hare.
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