There are very few clubs in modern football that are afforded the time to see through a team-building project. The combination of ambitious players and the necessity for immediate results makes a nurturing, progressive environment a rarity.
At the top end of the spectrum you have Real Madrid and Chelsea, frontrunners in impatience and disruption. The pressure on results is so great that there is no time for rebuilding. There is time for tweaks, but not for projects. There is just about time to explain a philosophy, attempt to implement it and see if it works.
In contrast to these clubs you have Manchester United and Barcelona, both clubs have been allowed time to build teams. Ferguson went through six seasons of team building before his first title and has bought time for further rebuilds through his successes. Barcelona too, have been allowed to develop this team over time, with Rijkaard’s team developing into that of Guardiola’s. These clubs are currently devoid of the pressures because they are successful.
At any level below the very top, the players become a problem. Even at a club of Arsenal’s stature, the players’ heads are turned by the lure of glory elsewhere. Wenger’s previous successes have allowed him time to build, but his failure to win trophies is prompting his players to abandon his project before the chairman does.
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Attracted by the bright lights of the big clubs, loyalty and commitment are disappointingly scarce. Consider the transfers of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing this summer, both players were hugely important to Aston Villa. They were players to build a team around, along with Darren Bent. Villa may have money now, but their teambuilding begins again.
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Further down the pecking order the manager does not even control when his team will be torn apart. Steve Bruce always complained bitterly about the disruptive effect of the January transfer window on his squad when he was Wigan manager. The top clubs swooped in to pick at his assets, (such as Heskey and Palacios in 2009) and left him to work with what was left for the second half of the season.
What are the conditions that allow a club time to build? A lack of expectation has allowed Borussia Dortmund time to build and take people by surprise. Previous success bought Rafael Benitez time at Liverpool and supreme sums of money allow Manchester City to build. These are certainly all factors, but they are conditions that are rare nowadays. Are chairmen in such a rush they’d rather buy than build? And do players have the loyalty to try and help a club improve or is it just every man for himself now?
On the 10th January, Liverpool picked up a free agent that may have passed under many people’s radars. It wasn’t a back page headline-making move for a star striker or a solid wing back to provide competition for Glen Johnson, yet it could prove to be more important than either of those things. For after being in charge for less than five days, Kenny Dalglish’s first move in January was to bring in experienced number two Steve Clarke to work along side him.
This latest backroom move means that Liverpool now appear to be clawing themselves away from the off-field mess that they were in only a few months ago. With new owners intact and the unsuccessful and unpopular Roy Hodgson replaced (albeit temporarily), Liverpool have finally realized that nothing will be achieved on the pitch until pressing matters are resolved off of it.
The inclusion of Steve Clarke to the coaching staff is a very shrewd move by Dalglish since a managerial acquisition with the track record of Clarke can only be beneficial. Clarke has worked under, and learnt from, the likes of Jose Mourinho, Bobby Robson and Luis Felipe Scolari, and has won the Premier League twice, League Cup twice and the FA Cup in his role as a managerial assistant. During his semi-successful time at West Ham in which he and Gianfranco Zola took West Ham to within two points of European qualification in their first season, Clarke’s important role was recognized when he became the highest paid assistant in the league.
It could certainly be argued that Liverpool have acquired one of the finest assistant managers in England, and history has shown how important having a number two, and crucially the right number two can be. Two of the Football League’s most successful managers, Brian Clough and Alex Ferguson, have always had a right-hand man by their side throughout their most distinguished managerial spells.
Peter Taylor was assistant to Brian Clough at Hartlepool, Derby County, Brighton and Nottingham Forest and is now widely regarded as one of the best assistant managers of all time. The chemistry between the two men was undeniable and both were fully aware of the contribution that the other had on their success. Clough humbly said of Taylor: “I’m not equipped to manage successfully without Peter Taylor. I am the shop window and he is the goods in the back.”, while Taylor said of Clough: “We just gelled together, we filled in the gaps…My strength was buying and selecting the right player, then Brian’s man management would shape the player”. Taylor and Clough won seven different honors while working together from 1968 to 1980 which included two European Cups and two League Championships.
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While Alex Ferguson’s list of assistant managers is far longer than Clough’s, the success that the right partnership has brought is equally as impressive. Bryan Kidd, Steve McClaren and Carlos Queiroz have all contributed in no small part to Manchester United’s success over the last two decades and it’s surely no coincidence that during 2003/04 when Ferguson had no assistant for the majority of the season United finished 15 points behind Arsenal. Ferguson is clearly aware that the support and ideas that an assistant can provide is the catalyst for creating a good team, and without a number two around who else would he get to speak to the BBC?(!).
Steve Clarke was a firm favorite during his time at Chelsea and I’m sure that he can achieve a similar status if he can help rebuild the shambles that Liverpool currently find themselves in. Two minds are always better than one and when they are as experienced as Dalglish and Clarke, who have around 70 years of football know-how between them, it can only be a good thing. The afore-mentioned Peter Taylor perhaps put it best when he said: “I always knew that two men, the right two, could build up a club quicker than one”, Liverpool fans will be hoping that they’ve finally found the right two because there’s plenty of building to be done.
The man that arrived from Liverpool, with a fairly good reputation, after having just finished a loan spell with Swansea City, Paul Anderson has certainly been a player that perplexes many people, possessing all of the attributes to be a danger, but so far, not fulfilling his potential.
Signing permenantly for Nottingham Forest, for the slim sum of £250,000, after a successful loan spell, pressure wasn’t immediately heaped massively on Anderson, as many appreciated his tender age, and the time he needed to develop under the stewardship of Billy Davies.
In the Billy Davies era, he was a useful asset, as Forest used his admirable energy and work-rate to their advantage, as ‘Ando’ frequently helped out Chris Gunter, and they formed a great defensive double act. Going forward however, couldn’t be more of a different tale. Anderson is superb at running with intent, purpose, and enthusiasm, and approaching the opposition left back as if the game is entering its final minutes. His arms going back and forth from behind his body, looking almost as if he’s ready for the battle that’s about to commence with the full-back, imposing himself early, before he gets a proper chance to flaunt his true colours.
His true colours?
Delightfully bright… Until he reaches 5 yards from a potential showdown with the waiting full-back. “Take him on” and “Beat him for pace”, are the usual cries from the Forest supporters, as ‘Ando’ subsequently either turns back, unambitiously, or runs inside, implementing more rigidity on games that are already narrow enough.
So much now, the Reds fans never expect anything from the No7. Gone are the days he has the ability of getting fans on the edge of their seats, or in some cases, standing hopefully up. All of whom simultaneously put their hands on their head violenty in frustration, as they witness yet another failure as he goes forward.
The majority have learnt to remain firmly in their seats, hands centimeteres from their slightly drooped face, as the cries of disappointment have turned into resigned, slightly exaggerated, ‘face to legs’ action, as everyone wonders how he still manages to produce the waste.
When rumours of an alleged bust up involving Anderson circulated the net, from an extremely unreliable source, one thought crossed my mind. Many were worried about a potential dressing room split, but that was far from my thinking.
At last, Anderson had proved he can take someone on.
A moment I’m sure would’ve been celebrated, if it wasn’t for Forest’s struggles.
There’s no doubt, in all seriousness, that Anderson is a decent squad member, but no more than that. With Forest currently fighting to keep him, it shows the mess the club is in. Day after day, week after week, stories will keep flowing, of players Forest hope to keep. It sells newspapers, and keeps communication continuing at the club, where they know full well, for yet another summer, they’re set to lose players for free, without anything more than a half-hearted attempt to retain them.
Despite Anderson’s well aired faults, following the loss of McCleary, there’s no natural right winger at the club. Mind you, I notice Grant Holt has granted a transfer request, so he obviously loved the role to the point he’s prepared to drop a league.
We’ve seen what happens when Cotterill puts faith into a young right winger, and plays him on a regular basis. Anderson could be his next successful project, if kept. Since 2009, Anderson’s evidently played with fear in a Forest shirt, affecting his performances. Clear him of those psychological blockages, and he could become a winger that full-backs don’t want to be facing. At the moment, he’s the type of player a full-back goes to bed and dreams about coming up against.
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A player the calibre of Paul Anderson, should be a meat and drink contract renewal for this club. The hesitancy of this player is possibly indicative of the direction the rest of the squad thinks the club is going.
Whether fans want him or not, is there to be debated.
But like so many others, it’s whether he wants us, that will probably prove the ultimate downfall.
English Premier League club Chelsea have reached an agreement with Barcelona to sign Spanish defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu.Romeu, 19, will be in Colombia competing at the Under-20 World Cup for Spain until August 20 at the latest, meaning the deal is not expected to be finalised next month.
With Michael Essien ruled out for up to six months after undergoing knee surgery, Romeu could provide cover in central midfield for the English Premier League side.
“He’s one of the most interesting, bright young players in the number six position, as we like to call it,” Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said.
“And hopefully we can agree personal terms with the player and hopefully he will pass a medical. Oriol is a player, of course with a bright future, he still has to evolve as a player and prove himself as a player.”
Romeu made his full Barcelona debut in May, after featuring for the reserve team 49 times.
Villas-Boas also discussed the future of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The 19-year-old joined Chelsea from Belgian club Racing Genk earlier this month, but was already set to join Atletico Madrid on loan as Chelsea look to further his development.
“Regarding Cortois, it is also a question of time and of deciding where we think it is better for him to evolve as a player, in Spain or in another country,” Villas-Boas said.
“Of course, the Spanish League is extremely competitive and Atletico is a great club to be at, but it is not decided yet.”
Courtois also had the option of returning to Genk next season, but has since passed a medical with Atletico and will spend the 2011/12 campaign at the La Liga club.
Chelsea will play a Thailand Premier League All-Stars XI in Bangkok on Sunday.
Runners-up to Manchester United last season, they begin their latest Premier League title challenge on August 14 with a trip to Stoke City.
With little money being made available to Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson, the loan market definitely seems as if it will offer Hodgson a small glimmer of hope. “NESV is believed to have been concerned by the millions of pounds hemorrhaged on transfer fees and wages by the club in recent years as it examined Liverpool’s finances as part of the due diligence process carried out before the £300 million purchase of the Anfield side was completed.”
The Americans are also understood to be dismayed at long-term contracts handed to veterans such as Jamie Carragher. They are furthermore said to have voiced concern at the purchase of players such as Robbie Keane and Fernando Morientes without any re-sell value due to their age.
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This said it is obvious NESV are wary of spending. However, I’m sure John W. Henry; NESV’s principle owner would never leave his manager Hodgson with little room for manouerve. The former Fulham manager is currently trying to sling shot Liverpool up the Premier League into the Champions League qualification spot. However, It is becoming evident as the season progresses that the present Liverpool squad is nowhere near the strength of its rivals who currently take up those four coveted league places. With money tight the most realistic opportunity for new faces would be through loan deals.
Furthermore Hodgson will not be allowed to add any players without first trimming the squad. Liverpool boast the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League – standing roughly at £107 million. Should Hodgson manage to sell come January, even then I am not sure he will see the money as John W. Henry says “We have to be more efficient. When we spend a dollar it has to be wisely. We cannot afford player contracts that do not make long-term sense. We have to be smart, bold, aggressive. It’s a great challenge” Once again lending the idea loan signings may fit the bill.
With Henry and NESV adamant they will not spend come January, the only way I see Hodgson adding to his squad is through loan signings and free transfers. Would Liverpool even be able to land a loan signing who could prove beneficial in their attempt to return to the Champions league in such a short space of time between January and May?
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Since the international retirements of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, England have toiled in pursuit of world-class central midfielders.
Eric Dier, Adam Lallana – valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt – and Jack Wilshere are among the options, and while all play for elite clubs, there are reservations about each of them.
The Three Lions lack inspiration in midfield areas and it is also unclear which formation Gareth Southgate will deploy during this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
His eventual decision – although something approaching a 3-4-2-1 looks the most likely – will obviously impact on the make-up of and demands placed on his engine room.
With England behind elite nations such as Germany, Spain and France in terms of their midfield options on paper, it is up to the former Middlesbrough manager to come up with a formula to compete with those countries without the raw materials.
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It is no mean feat and that’s why we’re asking you; who should Southgate play in central midfield for the friendly against Holland on Friday? Let us know by voting in the poll below…
After a fairly slow start by Manchester City’s standards, they are starting to play like a team that can contend on a number of fronts this season. City have won eight in a row – six coming in the Premier League. Wins over Bayern Munich and Roma saw the club turnaround a poor Champions League campaign to qualify for the last 16.
Their Premier League form has now put them in real contention for the title, levelling with Chelsea on points with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace yesterday. With a squad having the amount of quality City posses and the team starting to play like a champion side, the possibilities should be endless to what the club can achieve this season.
Injury has hit them hard at the wrong time of the season. Top scorer Sergio Aguero will be out until at least January, and captain Vincent Kompany is also expected to miss the Christmas period. Striker Edin Dzeko is a doubt for the coming weeks but as they proved against Leicester, they are capable of grinding out results without key players. And with their next three fixtures all against bottom six sides, you would still expect City to continue their winning form right across the busy festive period.
With a fully fit squad to choose from, Manuel Pellegrini usually opts for a 4-4-2 system, with Samir Nasri and David Silva as the wide players. But with two first choice strikers missing, this has and will have to change in the coming weeks. We have seen before how David Silva and Yay Toure possess more of a creative and attacking threat behind the striker, something Pellegrini will have to consider to get the best out of them. Also, Samir Nasri is fully capable of playing in this role as shown against Roma, so there are still plenty of attacking options without having to buy a replacement striker in January.
But one area that continues to be a weakness for City is in the centre of defence. Without Kompany for the coming weeks, they really could be exposed in this area. Eliaquim Mangala was brought in from Porto this past summer for a fee over £30million, and has not yet lived up to this price tag. Whilst he started well to life in the Premier League, including an impressive display against Chelsea, he has since looked venerable and prone to a mistake or two.
Although he is only young, Man City might need to address this problem next month. They also have Martin Demichelis and, although he has improved greatly from the start of last season, the thought of a Demichelis and Mangala pairing together is not something that is going to worry opposing strikers. There are other centre defenders available in Dedryck Boyata and Matija Nastasic, but both youngsters have had very little game time and could quite frankly do with a loan move to build up experience and gain valuable minutes.
The Barcelona tie in the Champions League will obviously be a real test for City but one to see really where the team are at. Barcelona aren’t as good as they once were but still have the likes of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar. A full strength Man City are certainly capable of beating Barcelona over two legs and will want to desperately progress past this stage, something they failed to achieved in the past. In terms of the league, they have been in a worse off position in the past and still managed to pull off a title victory – on two occasions.
Things are a little different this season with Chelsea playing magnificently. Despite this, hopefully City have already got the mandatory season blip out of the way after defeats to Stoke and West Ham earlier in the season. In all honesty, they are going to have to hope for a few more Chelsea defeats like the recent one against Newcastle, but if City keep on winning like they should with upcoming fixtures and keep the pressure on Chelsea then you never know what might happen.
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Manuel Pellegrini might need either a Premier League or Champions League title to keep his job for next season, and while the latter looks unlikely, a third Premier League crown in four seasons is certainly not out of the question.
Newcastle United striker Demba Ba is set to reject a move to Queens Park Rangers in January according to The Sun.
The Toon hitman is still set to leave the North East in the new year but West London will not be his new home after rejecting a contract offer of £80,000 a week.
Rangers are continuing to spend big in order to establish themselves as a Premier League club but it seems they haven’t learnt from previous mistakes of the likes of Leeds United, Southampton and Portsmouth when it comes to wages.
Scoring goals has certainly been an issue for the side that Harry Redknapp has taken over and despite their first win of the season last week they still sit precariously in the bottom three.
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Ba is available to leave Newcastle if a bid of £7.5million or more is placed, due to a clause in his contract, and it is expected that clubs will act in January.
Everton bounced back from two consecutive English Premier League defeats on Saturday, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 at Goodison Park.
The closing stages of the season are all about improvement for Toffees, with the prospect of relegation out of the question and their chances of securing European football slim.
After losing to Watford and Burnley away from home, it was a welcome return to Goodison for Sam Allardyce’s men, who looked comfortable throughout their win over the visiting Seagulls.
An own goal from Gaetan Bong broke the deadlock in the second half before Cenk Tosun scored his second in two games to secure all three points.
After a difficult start to his career on Merseyside, fans were delighted by Tosun’s contribution and are now predicting he will go on to become an excellent signing for the club.
Aside from his quality finish, supporters were impressed by his work rate and desire to impress the home crowd.
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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the Turkish striker…
You have to wonder if, somewhere along the line, that infamous team selection against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu – the decision to drop Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, Glen Johnson, Mario Balotelli and Dejan Lovren – comes back to haunt Brendan Rodgers.
Without context, in the vacuum of a single fixture, the Liverpool boss didn’t really do a lot wrong. After all, previously, Los Blancos had recorded eleven straight wins, including a 3-0 thumping at Anfield and a 3-1 victory over Barcelona, whilst the Reds’ had won just four in eleven, three of which, against Ludogorets, Swansea and QPR, had come via stoppage-time winners.
So the decision to rest Liverpool’s faltering stars for the more industrial members of the squad, such as Adam Lallana, Lucas Leiva, Joe Allen, Emre Can and Fabio Borini, to prevent an embarrassment similar to the one on Merseyside just a fortnight earlier is certainly understandable – more on that later.
Yet, when combined with Liverpool’s poor start to the season – a defeat to Chelsea last weekend seeing them drop to eleventh in the Premier League table – and recent criticisms over Rodgers’ spending strategy, with little above-ordinary to show for the £212million transfer outlay since he became Anfield boss in 2012, the controversial Bernabeu line-up forms another piece of kindling on the edge of a simmering fire.
Not to suggest Liverpool fans are currently over-miffed about it. Not to suggest Brendan Rodgers is about to lose his job because of it. But like an argument with a soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, it’s the kind of issue that gets thrown up in spite, all-the-more distorted by time and events since. “Yeah, and remember how he set us up to lose against Real Madrid?” you can imagine a typically militant Reds supporter muttering at Anfield if Liverpool’s poor run continues much longer.
Perhaps that hypothetical fan has a point – although no manager actively puts out teams to lose, Rodgers hardly set the Reds up to win either. They could’ve played Real Madrid for a fortnight and probably wouldn’t have got past Iker Casillas, barring an unforced error – they simply didn’t have enough quality on the pitch to hurt the European Champions.
That being said, you have to admire Brendan Rodgers’ bravery in his commitment to pragmatism over Liverpudlian nostalgia.
After all, that probably constituted Steven Gerrard’s last chance to play on the immaculate Bernabeu pitch before retiring, and based on Liverpool’s current league form, that could be their last truly memorable Champions League fixture against star-studded opposition for at least another season. The fans and the Reds’ captain fantastic would’ve undoubtedly preferred to have gone out with a bang rather than a tacit surrender, and Rodgers must have known there would be a media-backlash as soon as the teams were announced; virtually the entirety of British punditry is formed by hot-headed, trophy-laden former Reds.
But Liverpool’s continuation in the Champions League was never dependent upon recording underdog wins against the La Liga giants, especially away from home. Group B opponents Basel and Ludogrets should hardly be obstacles for a club that came second in the Premier League last season; that’s where the Reds’ European campaign will be lost and won.
Some common ground could’ve been found between the ‘B team’ that faced Real and the Liverpool side that lost to Newcastle United the weekend previous. Jordan Henderson for example, through his work-rate and determination, is the perfect midfielder for a gritty, backs-against-the-wall performance. Likewise, £20million signing Lazar Markovic offered nothing Raheem Sterling couldn’t on the right-hand side and Mario Balotelli, for all his indiscretions this season, is the kind of player that comes alive when he knows the world is watching.
But why should Rodgers have fielded his regular stars? Why should Steven Gerrard be undropable? None are performing anywhere near the levels of last season and the absence of Luis Suarez has become a tedious excuse for Liverpool’s form. Yes, he gave the Reds cutting edge and world-class industry, but that amplified Liverpool’s ethos last season, not constituted it entirely.
Therefore, why not give Lallana, Kolo Toure, Can et al their chance? They’ve been waiting all season to have an impact whilst the established stars have faltered and absolutely none of them, not even Fabio Borini, who was effectively told to leave Merseyside during the summer, let Rodgers down. The Liverpool boss spent a club-record sum during the off-season specifically to expand the depth available to him, so why not utilise it in a tournament and fixture nobody expected Liverpool to win?
There were more important things to think about than the whimsical notion of Liverpool performing beyond their means, without key striker Daniel Sturridge and amid a patch of stale form, to record a historic victory against Real Madrid. The odds of that happening, according to the bookies pre-kick-off, were 10/1.
A win against Chelsea in the subsequent fixture would’ve had a far greater impact on Liverpool’s season. It seems almost nobody will claim more than a point off the league leaders this season – doing so is attaining points that the divisional rivals won’t. Furthermore, although the Reds lost 2-1, they at least entered the Anfield clash with the right attitude; some players filled with confidence from the Bernabeu performance, others with a point to prove after being left out.
There aren’t too many clubs in world football with unique pressures like Liverpool’s. It’s far from the powerhouse of the 1980s, or for that matter, the early 2000s, yet through prestige and reputation alone, fans, pundits and neutrals alike expect the Reds to still be competitive against the biggest teams in Europe.
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Rodgers ruled that essentially impossible against what is probably the best team in world football and with that in mind, created other positives to take out of it. What could have the Merseysiders taken out of another 3-0 defeat, for example?
With the backlash inevitable and one that will potentially repeat on Rodgers, you have to admire his bravery.