Tottenham's Harry Kane netted a fine brace to put Arsenal to the sword in this afternoon's North London derby giving Spurs a vital 2-1 victory and a boost in the race for a top four finish. The England under-21 captain's potential seems limitless at the moment.
D. Ray Morton, 7th February 2015.
Harry Kane celebrates next to teammate Érik Lamela after netting against Arsenal this afternoon
They chant "he's one of us" in the stands, he is scoring goals by the hatful and he just helped Tottenham to victory in the North London derby but some still doubt whether Harry Kane is the real deal. In a game which Spurs controlled for the most part, Kane was the key difference with two clinical second half finishes after Arsenal took the lead early on thanks to a somewhat fortuitous opener which fell to the otherwise quiet Mesut Özil.
Kane's first was a classic poacher's goal being in the right place at the right time after David Ospina parried an effort in the 56th minute. The second was an Alan Shearer-esque header with only four minutes of normal time remaining, another late winner for Tottenham which seems to be their habit this season.
Last season, Kane was only recognised as a back-up striker with no outstanding talents other than the aerial ability his 1.90m frame offers him. In 2015, he is now starting to look like a frontman with no obvious weaknesses. He has come on in leaps and bounds and a teammate of his last season may be the inspiration for that: Gareth Bale.
Talking to Standard Sport last November, Kane said about Bale: "After training he would always be there, setting up the mannequins,
taking free-kicks and working on his finishing. You saw what happened:
he became an unbelievable finisher from outside the box and from
free-kicks."
He went on to say: "If you practice, the rewards are there. It's very inspiring. Every
footballer wants to play at the very top level and that's what I want to
do here at Spurs and make my mark for the club. That's why I work at
these aspects of my game."
Kane is modelling his game around Tottenham's former hero, Gareth Bale
And it is clear that the hours he is putting in in training is beneficial. At this point, he looks like an absolute banker to get in the England squad. If anything, his exclusion would draw hostility as he is undoubtedly England's most on-form striker. With Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge having an injury-ravaged season and Wayne Rooney playing in midfield for Manchester United, Kane seems like a natural spearhead for the national side where he can be supplied by England's ample selection of pacey wingers.
Of course it is not just Kane who deserves credit for masterminding Tottenham's win over their bitter rivals. Mauricio Pochettino set his side up perfectly, pressing Arsenal throughout and preventing clear cut chances. Whatever he is doing with them in training is working because Spurs are now one of the most feared teams in the Premier League for scoring late winners, a reputation previously held by Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.
So headaches for Arsenal fans and extra misery because it was inflicted by Tottenham's resident folk hero. This might be setting a pattern for future North London derbies. Harry Kane can excel at White Hart Lane and can eclipse the likes of Teddy Sheringham, Gary Lineker and who knows, maybe even Jimmy Greaves.
At thirty-four years of age and with his abilities in rapid decline, it is about time for Steven Gerrard to accept a backup role at Liverpool. If not, manager Brendan Rodgers needs to come up with a way of removing him from his starting eleven.
D. Ray Morton, 25th September 2014.
Brendan Rodgers has done his best to incorporate Steven Gerrard into his vision of this new Liverpool but how long can it last now?
When Brendan Rodgers took over at Liverpool, he knew the time would come when two Anfield stalwarts, Jamier Carragher and Steven Gerrard, would have to walk off into the sunset. Carragher retired from the game gracefully, bowing out when he knew he would have no significant role in Rodgers' possession-based game. How could "Carra" excel as a ball-playing defender in a team run by the man who had previously made Swansea City the Premier League's surprise possession-bossing team? He weighed up his options and stepped aside and now enjoys his role as an analyst for Sky Sports.
With Steven Gerrard, Rodgers would not have it so easy. He changed the team's playing style opting for a more direct, counter-attacking game. This fell in line with what some of the players were used to under previous managers and it also appealed to the Liverpool faithful who prefer a rapid pass-and-move game above a more methodical "tiki-taka"-like approach. In order to do this, Rodgers deployed Gerrard in the deep-lying playmaker role, the "quarter-back" that sits in front of the defence, sweeps up and looks to set up attacks with long diagonal passes to pacey wingers.
For most of last season, it worked a charm. Liverpool racked up enough goals to ignore their leaky defence line and came very close to winning the Premier League title before finally being pipped by Manchester City. Of course, the key moment in this late collapse was the now infamous slip against Chelsea in which Gerrard hesitated in possession, fell and allowed Demba Ba the clearest of one-on-one opportunities. The Senegalese scored and Liverpool's title challenge was as good as dead.
The "slip", an image that may haunt Gerrard forever
This terrible moment for the Liverpool captain was followed by an equally terrible World Cup. Gerrard was ineffective as England finished bottom of their group. Unsurprisingly, he retired from the international game concentrating on keeping himself as fit as possible for Liverpool's current campaign. It has not started well. Liverpool have lost three times in the league already and the optimism brought about by their shock second place finish last time out has subsided. With Daniel Sturridge out injured and Luis Suárez shipped off to Barcelona, the Reds look more like contenders for a Europa League spot rather than getting in to the top four.
Rodgers has to decide when to cut the chord. Steven Gerrard is not the "evergreen" Ryan Giggs who managed to fool a lot of professionals into thinking they can play on until the age of forty. Giggs operated in a reduced role for years under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He accepted that but chipped in with some important performances nevertheless. The feeling is not there that Gerrard can do a similar thing for Liverpool. Giggs always played in teams that had several stars, several match-winners. Even in his very prime, there was always two or three other players around him of equal, or possibly superior, talent. When Gerrard was at his very peak, aside from perhaps Fernando Torres, he was the star of the show and the man the Anfield crowd expected to change games. Those days are over.
Liverpool appear to have a lot of problems right now and as the season wears on, it will only get harder. Tougher games in the league, the domestic cups and the Champions League are ahead of them and only through rotating Gerrard and diminishing his key role can Liverpool manage to get through this season feeling they have done something productive.
Manchester United are about to seal a deal for Sporting Lisbon's Argentine left-back, Marcos Rojo, in a forced late window signing due to their shortcomings in defence. At €20m, this represents a gamble but it is an understandable one.
D. Ray Morton, 19th August 2014.
Argentina's Marcos Rojo is set to join Manchester United for a fee of €20m from Sporting Lisbon in the coming days
The English Premier League kicked off this weekend and it turned out that most of the top teams started their campaigns with wins. North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham both picked up victories against Crystal Palace and West Ham respectively though Everton were held by newly-promoted Leicester on Saturday. Sunday saw Liverpool and Manchester City get past Southampton and Newcastle whilst Chelsea beat Burnley on the road last night. Prior to all of these results, however, Manchester United started off the season with a miserable 1-2 humbling in their own backyard at the hands of Swansea City. The performance was poor from start to finish apart from a brief spell in which they had equalised yet Gylfi Siggurðson put them to the sword with a finely worked winner. United's performance still had that Moyesian feeling about it. Weak in front of their home fans, a lack of fight demonstrated.
They lined up in a 3-5-2 formation as expected based on their pre-season. The back three drew red flags before a ball was even kicked. Tyler Blackett, a débutante, started alongside Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. The three had the task of marking Swansea's lone striker, Wilfried Bony, meaning that there was an unnecessary amount of cover in an area the Swans did not intend to dominate. Instead, United's midfield had a man less and the visitors were able to pick them apart through efficiency of central possession. They broke in unison and found it relatively easy to pick off Louis van Gaal's men. In desperation, they changed to something along the lines of a 4-4-2 in the second half but this meant that Ashley Young would have to play at left-back, an experiment which should never be repeated. The fecal matter unleashed by the overflying bird into his mouth, as captured by the Vines of social media enthusiasts, was nearly fitting.
Manchester United's new manager was left stumped by their poor performance against Swansea City and may get more annoyed if the club do not secure some vital transfer targets before the window slams shut on August 31st
Van Gaal must be pretty frustrated at the lack of transfer activity coming from the club. Ed Woodward appears to be in charge of such matters and, like last summer, he is proving to be out of his depth. This is a man who is good at negotiating corporate sponsorship deals, not signing top level talent from around Europe and the rest of the world. Only Ander Herrera, who failed to impress on Saturday, and the injured Luke Shaw have arrived. This is set to change with only eleven more days of transfer window time left. Argentina's World Cup silver medallist Marcos Rojo is being lined up, a desperate reinforcement for a rickety back-line. With key targets like Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels and Ajax's Daley Blind missed, it is imperative that they get players of any reasonable standard in quickly.
Rojo is of a fine standard it should be pointed out. Whether that standard meets the touted €20m transfer fee is another question. Though he was seen as a potential weak link in Argentina's starting XI in Brazil, he had a very good tournament scoring a goal in the process. He is also coming off the back of his best ever domestic season with Sporting Lisbon where he made twenty-five appearances and scored four goals in the Portuguese top flight. He was deployed as a left-back in Alejandro Sabella's side but United fans should be aware that the 1.86cm defender can also play as a centre-half giving some much-needed versatility.
This move is a gamble but a necessary one and there may be a few more within the next week and a half of this transfer window. United have got the money and are ready and willing to pay a bit over the odds for numbers in their squad. Selling clubs know that they are desperate and this is far from an ideal start of the Louis van Gaal era. There are other areas where they need strengthening, central midfield being the obvious one still, and it should be fascinating to see if the Old Trafford club spend a fortune on getting a legitimate world star in before Sky Sports News' Jim White calls an end to transfer proceedings come midnight on August 31st.
Dwight Gayle reels away in celebration after scoring Crystal Palace's late equaliser
The travelling Liverpool fans belted out "we're going to win the league" around Selhurst Park last night after their side had taken a commanding three goal lead against Crystal Palace. This happened before Tony Pulis' team completed the shock comeback of the season in order to crush any last hope of the Premier League title going to Merseyside. Perhaps the opportunity had already been blown but this 3-3 draw was one of the final nails in the coffin. They can still, mathematically, win the league but Manchester City would have to fail spectacularly with only Aston Villa and West Ham to play, both at the Etihad.
A true fall apart, some have described last night's action as "Istanbul in reverse". Cruising to the point where the foot was mildly off the pedal in terms of finishing, the visiting fans yelled "attack, attack, attack!" in anticipation of another high-scoring, dominant victory. Tony Pulis had other ideas, however. A good manager will still have a game plan when his side are trailing by two goals going into the last twenty minutes but rarely can a boss change things when three behind. Pulis saw a weakness in Liverpool's defence and his impact sub, Dwight Gayle, was deployed to devastating effect. The ex-Arsenal youth player, who had to drop down to non-league football at one stage, ripped The Reds' defence apart with his pace and bagged a superb brace to crush Liverpool's spirit.
Pulis deserves massive credit and should probably be awarded the Manager of the Year prize which had been booked for Brendan Rodgers had he been able to secure a long-awaited but unlikely league title win. With nothing to work with resources-wise, Pulis has turned this Palace side into one of the most stubborn in the Premier League, a complete transformation from the Ian Holloway-led relegation candidates that started out the season.
Long-ball Stoke jokes are out of fashion as Pulis demonstrates his managerial chops at Palace
Luis Suarez had to cover his face after the final whistle as captain Steven Gerrard put his arm around him and shoved cameramen away as he attempted to console the Uruguayan. Only weeks earlier, Gerrard had been kissing cameras, so optimistic was the mood around the club. We can't tell whether Suarez was even crying beneath the veil of his jersey. He could have just as easily been laughing hysterically in irony, incredulous that Liverpool could concede so many after he and strike partner Daniel Sturridge ripped apart opposition defences with their combined 52 league goals this term.
This entire whirlwind of events has left audiences puzzled, neutrals unsure how to take it all in. A month or two ago, Liverpool had become many fans' (Manchester United and Everton followers excluded) second team with their dazzling displays of attacking football. Now their defending has become so farcical that it's hard to respect their almost suicidal insistence on only attempting to outscore their opponents. The positivity has soured and hope went from cockiness to what is currently despair. On the whole, however, Liverpool should still consider this season a success looking at their improvement in league position. They would have happily taken second place when asked at the start of the campaign.
What happens next season is intriguing. Having missed out on the title, Suarez will be more tempted than ever should Real Madrid come knocking. It's a once in a lifetime chance to play at the world's most successful club and it will be very hard to keep him. The received fee could be astronomical and that would allow Brendan Rodgers to invest in some real defenders and a Suarez replacement. Someone like Juventus' Carlos Tevez would be ideal should he become available. The restructuring need not be dramatic but it will need to take place with the possibility of a resurgent Man United competing with and against City, Chelsea and Arsenal next season.
Demba Ba scores Chelsea's opener capitalising on Gerrard's mistake
Sunday's Premier League action saw Chelsea defeat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield as Manchester City later put two past Crystal Palace on their travels to add yet another twist to this incredible title race. City have three remaining matches and barring an unlikely turnaround of their goal difference advantage, a trifecta of victories will hand them the championship crown.
Manchester City's destiny is now in their own hands
Liverpool's horror afternoon was largely due to the poor performance of their captain, Steven Gerrard, whose erroneous slip cost them Demba Ba's opener. Chelsea sat very deep with the second string side Jose Mourinho had warned he would field in order to rest players for their second leg Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid in mid-week. The underdog mind game comment worked a treat.
Captain Gerrard's performance was poor at the time they needed him the most
Gerrard's game was panicked and he wasted possession several times with speculative long shots. Reds' talismanic striker Luis Suarez struggled to make an impact and was marshalled effectively by rookie defender Tomas Kalac. Daniel Sturridge couldn't find spaces and his dismal showing lead to Chelsea's second when substitute Fernando Torres combined with Willian on the counter who walked it into an empty goal.
Willian had all the time in the world after he broke free with Torres during a late counter attack
Liverpool will take part in the Champions League next season and it should be interesting to see how they will deal with the busier schedule. Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal are used to that situation but Brendan Rodgers' squad will have to be strengthened in the summer. Mourinho's Chelsea will be very strong as soon as they sign a world class striker, most likely Atletico's Diego Costa. City will spend too. Manchester United, Tottenham and Everton will also do their best to improve.
The chance of winning a title for Liverpool doesn't come along too often and there is now a sinking feeling about this season and that maybe the talk of it being their year had been too premature.
In what was a disastrous season for the Red Devils, goalkeeper David De Gea stood out amongst David Moyes' underachievers. The Spanish goalkeeper has enjoyed solid form throughout the campaign and has eliminated mistakes from his game that haunted him on occasions last season. Such is Spain's strength in depth in the goalkeeping department, De Gea might not make the World Cup squad despite the long-term injury to Barcelona stopper, Victor Valdés. He will have to compete with Real Madrid duo Iker Casillas, Diego López and Napoli's Pepe Reina for a place.
Right-back: Séamus Coleman (Everton)
Irish international Séamus Coleman has been the stand-out right-back in this season's Premier League. The 25 year-old from Killybegs has helped Roberto Martínez' Everton in their quest to become genuine Champions League qualification contenders with his direct running, endless stamina and constant overlaps down the right side. Coleman might even be good enough to earn a move to one of the bigger clubs though he would probably be wise to stay put seeing as he's excelling in his current role.
Centre-backs
John Terry (Chelsea)
John Terry has enjoyed something of a revival this year after struggling the year before giving many the impression that his best days as a player were behind him. Under José Mourinho, however, Terry has enjoyed a storming campaign forming a mean defensive partnership with England international, Gary Cahill. Retired from international football so he can recover fully come summer, Terry might well have another season or two left in him performing at the very highest level.
Martin Škrtel (Liverpool)
Maybe a surprise selection for some (the aforementioned Cahill or Manchester City's Vincent Kompany would be popular picks), we decided to put Slovakian defender Martin Škrtel in this XI because of his vital contribution to Liverpool's title charge thanks to his seven league goals. 2013/14 wasn't exactly the year of the centre-back with many high-scoring results, so Škrtel's inclusion here is as logical as anyone else's.
Martin Škrtel, our surprise inclusion perhaps
Left-back: César Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
César Azpilicueta has been a revelation for Chelsea this season. Favoured by José Mourinho at left-back over Ashley Cole throughout the campaign, the 24 year-old Spaniard has done very well to dislodge a player who many considered to be one of the best left-backs of the past decade. Azpilicueta covers ground very well, can defend and doesn't look uncomfortable out on the left despite being naturally right-footed. An honourable mention in this position goes to Southampton's Luke Shaw who may very well steal poor, bearded Ashley's World Cup plane ticket.
Deep-lying midfield playmaker: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
With that subheading, it could only be Steven Gerrard. Brendan Rodgers has totally altered the former attacking midfielder's playing style so that he now takes the role of an American Football-style quarterback, sitting in front of his defence picking out long passes and dictating the tempo from deep. It is a remarkable turnaround for a player who appeared to be falling into decline before Rodgers' arrival on Merseyside. Gerrard has been colossal for Liverpool and may finally get rewarded with that precious first Premier League winners' medal that has eluded his otherwise glittering trophy cabinet.
Advanced midfielders
Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)
Though Aaron Ramsey has missed a good chunk of the season with a thigh injury, the statistics for when he does play don't lie. Arsenal have been a far, far better team when the Welshman is available for selection. His goals and assists have been a joy to watch (9 goals and 8 assists in 18 starts) and now he's truly overtaken Jack Wilshere as Arsenal's great home-grown hope. His recent goal against Hull City was simply staggering. Receiving the ball with a Cruyff-like turn, he advances in possession, picks out a team mate and makes a beeline towards the opposition's penalty area where he finds himself in the perfect position to score. A pure footballing goal of the season candidate for sure.
David Silva (Manchester City)
The diminutive Spaniard's inclusion in this season's team of the year might not be everyone's cup of tea. Indeed, many people would opt for his giant marauding team mate, Yaya Touré, but despite Manchester City's late league challenge capitulation, David Silva has been immense. In 24 games, he has 7 goals, 9 assists, a pass completion rate of 88% and 3 man of the match awards to his name. Silva has been subtly awesome and deserves a place in the Spanish starting XI during the World Cup. Unfortunately however, playing outside of Spain's Liga BBVA, he's more likely to find himself warming the bench as a squad member.
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
The Belgian winger has really found his feet this season and has started to look like the world class player Chelsea were supposed to have purchased in the summer of 2012. Hazard's first season was decent, though not awe-inspiring. This year, however, José Mourinho has really gotten the best out of him and in order to do so, he had to do away with one of their key players in Juan Mata who was shipped off to Manchester United in January. Hazard has all the attributes to be a modern great. He has strength, mental composure and the ability to move at pace with the ball seemingly stuck to his feet. If Chelsea's title push hadn't fallen apart (still mathematically possible, I know), Hazard wouldn't just be on this team, he'd probably be named player of the season.
Strikers
Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
Sturridge gets into this team by default because his Liverpool strike partnership with Luis Suárez has been simply devastating. The 24 year-old England international has scored 20 times in 24 starts and has also chipped in with 7 assists. The fluidity of his dribbling is notable. He often gets the better of defenders when it doesn't look like he has anywhere to go and he must surely be Roy Hodgson's No. 1 choice striker with Wayne Rooney's recent slump in form. Manchester City's Sergio Agüero came very close to taking his spot here but we've opted for Sturridge because he's played that little bit more and is likely to win the title. Statistically, the Argentine has been more lethal but he needs to keep those dodgy hamstrings in check.
Luis Suárez (Liverpool)
The most obvious name on the team sheet. Suárez hasn't just been great this season, he's been a monster! The stats spell it out: 30 games, 30 goals, 12 assists and a mind-blowing 14 man of the match awards. Not only is this the Uruguayan's best ever season, it might be anyone's best ever season in the modern Premier League era. Such scoring feats haven't been seen since the days of Dixie Dean in the pre-war years when football was effectively a different sport. Securing the league title, finishing as EPL top goalscorer and player of the year is more than enough incentive for Suárez to stay and continue building this project despite the flirtatious gaze of Real Madrid. You can find our Premier League WORST TEAM OF THE SEASON here
Our poll here at Soccer Stash shows Germany as the majority favourites to win the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. The home side themselves are the bookmakers' favourites so the inclination that Germany might triumph next summer displays the diverse opinions of this site's readers. Whether they're "football hipsters" or pragmatists, Germany seem to be the team in this little pocket of the internet anyway.
This is puzzling to me to say the least. Now don't get me wrong, Germany have a fine side packed full of quality players but there's very little they've done that can convince me they stand a chance of winning the World Cup outright. The main thing to examine here is their record in recent tournaments. Naturally, Germany always qualify comfortably. Due to the UEFA seedings system in qualification groups, the Germans will rarely have to face top opposition before the main tournaments begin. For this World Cup, they qualified easily out of a weak group that only contained Sweden and the Republic of Ireland as possible banana skins.
Once qualified for their last major competition, Euro 2012, they were impressive in the group stage beating Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark by a single goal on each occasion to get through quite easily. They swept aside Greece 4-2 in the quarter-finals which set up their semi-final clash against Italy. Though many people had tipped the Germans to defeat the azzurri, they failed on the big occasion and got walloped 2-1 thanks to a magnificent performance from Mario Balotelli. This continued Germany's awful record against Italy in major competitions where they have never successfully defeated them. Not once. Indeed, Italy are Germany's bogey team.
Two years previously, at World Cup 2010, Germany failed at the penultimate hurdle again. As usual, they got through their group but did lose to Serbia in the process. They thumped a typically inadequate English team 4-1 in the second round and hammered the most disorganised of Argentinas in the quarters. But yet again, as soon as they faced sturdy opposition with a real game plan, they were found wanting. Eventual winners Spain passed them off the pitch to defeat them 1-0 in the semi-final. This was a repeat of the Euro 2008 final where, again, Spain were just too good for die Mannschaft.
Turning attention to the German domestic league, don't let last season's all-German Champions League final fool you. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund may have locked horns over Europe's elite club competition but the German game is nowhere near as advanced as the game in Spain, England and even Italy. Though the Bundesliga has totted up some impressive UEFA co-efficient points to make it Europe's third-ranked league behind the Premier League and La Liga, most of the teams competing in that league are very average.
Bayern Munich have already won the German league this season and it's not even April. Last season, they won the league so easily they decided to refund their season ticket holders. This season, Dortmund never challenged them. Bland teams like Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen pretended to but never even got a sniff in either. German clubs are balancing their books well which is admirable and average attendances are impressive but the league still lacks quality when compared to other European top flights.
There are at least four other leagues that are arguably superior than the Bundesliga. No other league matches the pace, intensity and investment of the English Premier League. Technically, Spanish football is miles ahead of anyone else. In terms of tactics and rigid defensive systems, Serie A is still highly competitive. Many professional players believe the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would never score as many goals as they do if they had to face defences like that week-in, week-out. I could imagine them both scoring significantly more in Germany especially if either played for Bayern. And then there's the French league which has Paris St. Germain and Monaco, two nouveau riche potential super-clubs.
The one thing German football has going for it this season is Bayern and no doubt, they're an awesome team. They have Manchester United in the Champions League next which, based on the Old Trafford club's form this season, should be a formality. Whether Bayern can complete back-to-back Champions League wins is anyone's guess but bookies are currently placing them as favourites. Dortmund are still in there too but not many are giving them a chance.
Switching focus back to the national team, which was the point of this article, there are some key problem areas in Germany's best starting XI. Most worrying is the decline in form of Mesut Özil which I have previously discussed. First-choice striker is another conundrum with Miroslav Klose showing his age and Mario Gómez still having not found top form after missing a lot of the season through injury. Also, Per Mertesacker is their first-choice centre back as Mats Hummels hasn't developed into the world beater everybody expected he'd be. Mertesacker is good positionally but surely his mobility will be tested by pacey strikers in the searing heat of Brazil next summer.
So, expect Germany to do well at the World Cup but don't expect them to win it. They have good players, depth and an attractive playing style but when it comes to the crunch matches against the top teams, their record is still questionable. Can they break they hex? We shall see.
Injured again. On his day, Sergio "Kun" Aguero is one of the best strikers in the world. At age 25, however, his career has been dotted with too many recurring injuries that have, so far, prevented him from reaching his true potential. Breaking into the Independiente first team squad as far back as 2003, Aguero has been tipped for great things. His early rise to prominence was such that many predicted his career trajectory would be similar to that of Argentina's undoubted star man, Lionel Messi. Scoring 23 goals in 54 senior appearances at home, Aguero earned a €23m move to Atletico Madrid in 2006 where he went on to score 74 times in 175 games. He was on the radar of Europe's richest clubs at that stage and in 2011, Manchester City splashed €45m on his services.
Aguero may have been the man who scored their Premier League-winning strike against Queens Park Rangers two seasons ago but one must surely question his on-going fitness struggles at this point. It seems that every few weeks his hamstrings act up again, he plays a few games and then he's out for a few games. The pattern is becoming predictable and frustrating. City have one of the best strikers in the world and potentially one of the best all-round individual players but these constant interruptions are preventing him from realising his full capabilities. We have seen several strikers of this ilk over the years. Strikers with incredible ability but who might have been even greater had their bodies not kept breaking down on them.
One such example was Ronaldo (of Brazil). Winner of the World Cup in 1994 and 2002 and also the all-time highest goalscorer at World Cups with fifteen strikes, Ronaldo's career was extremely well decorated but one feels he could have reached the pantheon of football gods such as Pele and Diego Maradona had injuries not so cruelly stifled his career. When Ronaldo was fit, he was astonishing. He had the same blistering pace Aguero boasts, was two-footed and scored all kinds of goals. He joined Inter Milan from Barcelona in 1997 and had a great first season there winning the Ballon d'Or in the process. In a match against Lecce in November 1999 however, Ronaldo's knee buckled which started a series of injuries that would haunt him for the rest of his career. Despite managing to win a lot more after that point in his development, the stop-start pattern of his injuries prevented him from excelling into one of the truly great modern day footballers, a status that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now enjoy instead.
Another Brazilian who's suffered a cruel twist of fate when it comes to injuries is Pato. Once at AC Milan, Pato was another young superstar once heralded in the same breath as a young Messi or Aguero. He had shown great promise from an early age and had all the hallmarks of a future world beater in his displays at Internacionale which earned him a move to Italy's fashion capital in 2007. He started well in Milan and appeared as if he could be the real deal but from 2010 to 2013, his playing time was cut short with continuous injuries, often hamstring problems. His decline was such that he was shipped back to Brazil to Corinthians (and now on loan to Sao Paulo), where he's struggling desperately in his unlikely quest to force his way into the Brazilian World Cup squad. Aguero should count his lucky stars that his career hasn't fallen off the rails quite as dramatically but injury after injury suggests that big clubs will eventually cut the chord of support once their patience has been too thoroughly tested.
Michael Owen also knows a thing or two about being laid out on the treatment table. Another sprinter of a striker, Owen's injury problems were such that many people forget he was once awarded the European Player of the Year gong. Bursting onto the scene at World Cup '98 and having shown his great promise at Liverpool by winning a treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup in 2000-01, he earned a massive move to Real Madrid in 2004 which was hampered by hamstring pulls and knee problems. Over this period, he went from being a speed merchant to a six yard-box poacher such was his rapid decline in pace. By the time he joined Newcastle United in 2005, the club felt they could convert him into an attacking midfield playmaker. He wound down his career at Manchester United and Stoke City, though still highly effective at grabbing the odd goal, appearing to be a very different player from the lightning-quick threat he once was.
To Fernando Torres, another Aguero might be able to learn from. Torres took the Premier League by storm when he joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid in 2007. Aguero was, in fact, Torres' direct replacement. Quick, mobile and unpredictable, the freckled Spaniard looked a very different player back then from the £50m flop we see regularly at Chelsea. His transformation into a moody, over-sized liability might have something to do with the brutality of the English game's strength and conditioning programme. He was part of the same Rafa Benitez Liverpool system that required players to partake in heavy squat exercises on Friday nights before Saturday afternoon kick-offs. Craig Bellamy, another rocket sprinter described it as the period in his career where he felt most unfit. Surely such intense strength-building exercises should belong in pre-season and certainly not the night before games.
What Aguero can learn from this is that he still has time, at only age 25, to figure out how best his body works and not to rush himself back after bouts on the sideline. Last season's Robin van Persie was a very good example of an athlete who really learned to understand his limitations, identified these and had a great season becoming Premier League top scorer and guiding Manchester United to the Premier League title. Tomas Rosicky at Arsenal is another player who has managed to shake off a career of recurring injuries and is now, finally, playing with the kind of regularity he must regret missing out on when he was at his expected peak.
So don't rush back, Kun! Get well when the time is right.
It was billed as the kind of game that would stop Liverpool's title momentum but yesterday at St. Mary's, The Reds brushed aside Southampton in a thoroughly professional performance which keeps them very much in the title chase with ten games left to play. Though Chelsea go four points clear thanks to their win against Fulham and Manchester City can draw level on points granted they win their two games in hand, should Liverpool keep picking up wins, this could be their year. Regardless of whether Chelsea and City slip, or if Arsenal manage to rediscover their form, when Liverpool's season finishes, they have an awesome platform for next year. It is highly unlikely that they would now finish outside a Champions League qualification spot.
The opening quarter of an hour was actually rather sloppy, with both teams giving away possession in an attempt to figure each other out. Luis Suarez gave Liverpool the lead thanks to some dogged harrying of Southampton's defence which lead to a mistake by Jose Fonte to which the Uruguayan punished with an accurate first-time finish. A good way to start his 100th Premier League appearance.
Southampton did not roll over however and they managed to get hold of the ball and create chances. Adam Lallana especially impressed as he managed to trouble Liverpool's back four by turning up in different positions and testing them with his mazy dribbling skills. Had Rickie Lambert's finishing on the day been better, The Saints could have drawn level before the interval.
Lallana should be going to Brazil with the England squad come the summer. Lambert looked far off that standard. Indeed, Lallana hit the woodwork on 32 minutes where Southampton began to dominate possession as Brendan Rodgers' side sat off the home team. Jay Rodriguez came close just before half-time but was denied by a good save from Simon Mignolet.
Liverpool switched things up in the second half and brought on Raheem Sterling for Philippe Coutinho early after the restart. Within eighty seconds, the diminutive winger had found himself on the scoresheet. Suarez worked the ball down the right a provided a cross as Sterling got into the perfect position to slot home unmarked inside the Southampton penalty area.
From there, the away side managed to kill the game off by defending well and pressing Southampton who had 60% of the ball but were not able to do much with it. It was a demonstration of devastating counter attacking play, very different from Rodgers' Swansea who insisted on possession over incisiveness. The away fans were the only ones singing and Suarez helped complete the victory by winning a penalty in injury time. Steven Gerrard duly dispatched it to give the visitors a 3-0 win.
So a solid win for a team in form. With ten games remaining, it's not unthinkable for Liverpool to pinch the title but realistically, the optimism should be geared towards next season. Champions League football and the likelihood that Luis Suarez will stay should attract better players to the club and Rodgers will be able to invest in badly-needed defenders and a few more specialists to fill up his squad.
Southampton 0-3 Liverpool (Suarez 16, Sterling 58, Gerrard 90+ pen)
We
enter January's transfer deadline day where clubs around Europe will
scramble to put together last minute deals, whether it be that star
player to bring your team to the next level or just recruiting a
useful player to bolster one's squad for the second half of the
season. No doubt Jim White will be busy but let's now look at some of
January's better (and worse) deals.
The Good
In
January 2010, Liverpool made arguably their greatest signing of a
generation in bringing in Luis
Suarez
for a fee of £23m. At the time however, not many expected Suarez to
reach the dizzying heights he has done. Coming from Ajax where he had
scored a decent amount of goals, many had suspected he could struggle
in the Premier League against tougher defences. Flash forward to 2014
and Suarez is now one of the hottest properties in world football.
Liverpool have had to restructure their wage budget and offer him a
bumper contract in order to fight off interest from Real Madrid.
During
the same window, Stoke City acquired an obscure Portsmouth goalkeeper
by the name of Asmir
Begovic
for just over £3m. A relative unknown at the time, due to being
loaned out over several seasons by his parent club, Begovic's impact
at Stoke has been a revelation leading him to be linked to bigger
clubs in recent times - Manchester United until David De Gea refound
his form and more recently, Manchester City due to Joe Hart's shaky
performances between the sticks this season.
The
Bad
An
obvious frontrunner in this category is poor old Fernando
Torres.
In January 2011, Chelsea splashed out an incredible £50m on the
Spanish international who had taken the Premier League by storm in
his years at Liverpool. Needless to say to anyone who has watched
Chelsea in the past two and a half years, Torres has been little more
than a classic, expensive flop. Having lost a yard of pace, the goals
never really came apart from a few fits here and there. Unless his
form drastically changes, the deal might go down as one of the worst
in EPL history. Torres would need a miracle to get into the Spanish
World Cup squad, let alone establish himself as a world class striker
in England's top flight again.
A
deal which took place in the same window, off-shot by the Torres
deal, was Andy
Carroll's
move from Newcastle United to Liverpool for an absolutely
mind-boggling £35m. Manager Kenny Dalglish felt the fee was
justified by the money they got for Torres and like the Spaniard,
Carroll flopped like a fish out of water. As soon as Brendan Rodgers
took over at Anfield, big Andy was quickly shipped off to West Ham,
the new gaffer sensing that the immobile target man had no place in
his vision for a fluid, possession-based style of play.
A perfect example of why clubs should buy with caution in January
The
Ugly
The
ugly side of the January transfer window deadline day is not
necessarily the desperate hunt for last minute deals which clubs find
themselves in. This is understandable, as many teams get ravaged with
injuries over the busy Christmas period but the out-and-out media
circus that comes with it is probably most annoying. Harry Redknapp's
head sticking out of a car window, Peter Odemwingie turning up at
clubs that don't want to sign him and all those flashy countdowns and
bright gold splashed over Sky Sports News can drive any football fan
mad. Do yourself a favour - leave the telly off and read about the
done deals tomorrow!
