PREMIER LEAGUE WRAP-UP AFTER WEEKEND 2

The English and Welsh Premier League is past its second weekend as title co-favourites Manchester City and Chelsea dominate whilst the supposedly revitalised Manchester United continue to falter.

 

D. Ray Morton, 26th August 2014.

Stevan Jovetic put in arguably his finest Premier league performance thus far last night as he scored twice to help Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-1 at the Etihad

The Good

Last night, Manchester City swept aside a defensively frail Liverpool side thanks to a fine brace from in-form Stevan Jovetic and another from substitute Sergio Agüero in an exciting clash at the Etihad. Liverpool scored one of their own through another sub, Rickie Lambert, but it was not enough to claw back against the defending champions. Jovetic's performance was particularly impressive demonstrating the pace and technique he had shown at his former club Fiorentina but was not seen much last campaign as he struggled with injuries. Edin Džeko is another luxurious forward option and with Álvaro Negredo yet to come back, one imagines goals should not be a problem for Manuel Pellegrini's team as the campaign wears on.

Tottenham are sitting pretty on top of the Premier League table thanks to a storming win against Queens Park Rangers at White Hart Lane. Mauricio Pochettino's men strolled to a 4-0 victory against former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp's newly-promoted relegation candidates. The manner of the victory was worth taking note of. Spurs pressed extremely well and managed to keep possession beautifully throughout. This was the brand of football the Tottenham faithful wished for last season but it never materialised under André Villas-Boas or the man who followed him, Tim Sherwood. Érik Lamela impressed again and the club record signing is starting to show signs that he will not continue to be the flop that he was last season. New recruit, Eric Dier looks like an early candidate for signing of the season. Pochettino is developing a collective confidence at Spurs and as long as their players continue to grasp his philosophy, they will push hard for a Champions League spot. 

Tottenham celebrate during their 4-0 thrashing of Queens Park Rangers

Speaking of Champions League spots, we move onto...

The Bad

 

Another disappointing weekend for Manchester United. This was the side that was supposed to pull up its pants this season, attack the top four spots and maybe even make a run for the title. Instead, two weeks in, they look like a shambles. Louis van Gaal's three at the back continues to struggle and their 1-1 away draw to Sunderland was lucky if anything as the Black Cats played the better football. Marcos Rojo and Ángel Di Maria (a reported €80m record signing) are set to come in soon and the other major clubs will get stuck into their European campaigns but big questions are being asked already. Is three at the back the way forward in a league that predominantly features lone striker formations? Will doubts creep in? Will the new players bed in or become expensive failures? Right now it is looking grim. Even if they continue to throw their money around and go after further targets before 1st September, such a rapidly slapped together XI could struggle some more. Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Rojo and Di Maria are all fine players but are not the types to run things on their own.

Di Maria in at Manchester United but that is no guarantee of immediate success

We have already mentioned Liverpool but did not mention the signing of Mario Balotelli. At €20m, it represents a potential bargain but the entire deal is somewhat puzzling. AC Milan were very quick to show him the door despite not having that many great strikers at San Siro already. Filippo Inzaghi became disillusioned with his presence and felt he was a poisonous presence in the dressing room. Brendan Rodgers has dealt with some bad boys in the past but "Super Mario" brings that to a whole new level. Even if he behaves himself off the pitch, he can be a right nuisance on the pitch when things do not go his way. Last season at Milan, he tended to sulk and move around very little if he felt the team was not playing well. Such arrogance, laziness, whatever you will call it, could simply not be accepted under the glaring cameras and the loud-mouthed reactions of the Premier League machine. Balotelli brings his best in patches. That is what he has done throughout his whole career. He may score a free-kick or two but do not expect a Luis Suárez replacement.

Adam Lallana, Mario Balotelli and Kenny Dalglish all happy...before Liverpool proceeded to get thumped by Manchester City

Results

Saturday

Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle

Chelsea 2-0 Leicester (D. Costa, E. Hazard)

Crystal Palace 1-3 West Ham (Chamakh; Zaraté, Downing, C. Cole)

Southampton 0-0 West Brom

Swansea 1-0 Burnley (N. Dyer)

Everton 2-2 Arsenal (Coleman, Naismith; Ramsey, Giroud)

Sunday

Hull City 1-1 Stoke City (Jelavic; Shawcross)

Tottenham 4-0 QPR (Chadli 2, Dier, Adebayor)

Sunderland 1-1 Manchester United (Rodwell; Mata)

Monday

Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool (Jovetic 2, Agüero; Lambert)

WORLD CUP TRIUMPH IN MESSI'S HANDS

D. Ray Morton, 11th June 2014.

Lionel Messi will play in his first World Cup with Argentina built around him

The World Cup finally gets under way tomorrow evening (Brazil vs. Croatia K/O 9pm GMT) and speculation mounts as to who will win the competition on the back of many injuries and players who have endured sixty-game seasons. Lionel Messi, having surrendered his Balon d'Or crown to Cristiano Ronaldo last year, is many pundits' tip to be the star individual of the tournament.

There are several reasons as to why people think Messi will dominate at the World Cup. At one point last season, former Barcelona assistant manager, Angel Cappa, accused the Argentine of losing his passion for the game. Indeed, many felt that he had taken his foot off the pedal as his domestic season wound down in order to save himself for Brazil's football carnival. It is harsh to judge a player's professionalism like this and Diego Simeone's Atlético Madrid, who pipped Barça to both a Liga BBVA title and a place in the Champions League final, deserve a lot of credit for keeping Messi quiet throughout their series of games. Therefore, La Pulga Atómica has a lot to prove and a lot of pundits to silence. Included in this is the ever-opinionated Zvonimir Boban who recently accused Argentina's No. 10 of "not trying" (whilst also stating Barça teammate Neymar will never become the world's best player).

The reason for Messi optimism is as follows. Fair enough, his performances did dip a little towards the end of last season but it was on the back of a year that involved a serious hamstring injury. Between Barcelona's last game of the campaign and the start of the World Cup, he has been able to rest and is enjoying his time with the Argentina camp. There may be a sense of pressure too, however. Messi has vomited during play on several occasions in recent times and though he maintains it has nothing to do with nerves, it is odd that the medical staff cannot find an explanation for this. Messi believes it merely some undiagnosed, minor illness that just happens to him sometimes. Merely a weak stomach.

Assuming Messi is 100% fit and happy, he finds himself in an Argentina team built around him away from the pressures of Camp Nou. This was not the case in the past. Sergio Agüero and Gonzalo Higuaín should join him to form a formidable attacking force, arguably the best at the World Cup. Other major stars from top nations are either missing or struggling for fitness too which gives Messi the chance to shine above all others. Germany's Marco Reus, France's Franck Ribéry and Colombia's Radamel Falcao are all ruled out and there are question marks over the condition of Portugal's Ronaldo and Uruguay's Luis Suárez. Five top players who could have each taken the tournament by storm.

Considering Messi turns twenty-seven on 24th June, he should be at his prime in this World Cup. Argentina's potential path to the final is not the worst either and they could be looking at a semi-final against Spain and perhaps Brazil in the decider, the ultimate South American football rivalry. Spain are thought to be a little bit weaker than in their last three international championships and there are still questions over whether this Brazil team are really that good. There will be a lot more pressure on Neymar & co. than on Messi & co. Even playing the World Cup in South America helps. Obviously not against Brazil but against the European teams.

So will Messi cement that World Cup legacy that places Diego Maradona above him in the annals of the Argentine game? The conditions seem to be right for what Argentinians have been waiting for since 1986. With a much better supporting cast to boot.

INJURIES HINDERING AGUERO'S CAREER

INJURIES HINDERING AGUERO'S CAREER

D. Ray Morton, 14th March 2014.

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.

CITY DUMPED OUT OF EUROPE AND SHOULD HAVE NO COMPLAINTS

CITY DUMPED OUT OF EUROPE AND SHOULD HAVE NO COMPLAINTS

D. Ray Morton, 13th March 2014.

Barcelona have booked their way into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-1 home win at Camp Nou against Manchester City last night which gave them a 4-1 aggregate victory over the two legs. City now only have the Premier League to play for after being unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by Wigan Athletic last weekend.

Barcelona opted to field a side that would focus on possession and this was seen in the omission of Pedro and Alexis Sanchez from the starting line-up. Neymar, Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi was the front line listed on the teamsheet with Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta operating in midfield. This selection was enough to bring about confusion in any opponent as it was hard to determine where Messi and Fabregas would position themselves on the pitch. Was Fabregas set to play in the false 9 role pushing Messi out on the right where he played in his formative years? In the end, it appeared Messi was simply everywhere, given complete tactical freedom and tormenting the visitors.

With Martin Demichelis suspended after his first leg sending off, Manuel Pellegrini opted to play Joleon Lescott at the heart of his defence alongside Vincent Kompany. Sergio Aguero was played as a lone striker, City hoping to catch Barca on the counter attack on the huge Camp Nou surface.

Both sides shared chances in the first half as the Catalans, predictably, kept most of the ball. Messi came close after 12 minutes when his mazy dribble led him into the City penalty area where they were just about able to get enough bodies back to prevent the Argentine from opening the scoring. Neymar also came close six minutes before the break by turning gracefully past Aleksandar Kolarov but shot wide. Samir Nasri had City's best opportunity of the half two minutes later but was only able to fire straight at Victor Valdes. HT 0-0.

Aguero must have been frustrated with his first half supply. As revealed by FourFourTwo he only received five passes during the entire first forty-five minutes. Replaced by Edin Dzeko at half-time stirring fitness worries, City could be without Aguero again for part of their Premier League title run-in. Barcelona's game plan appeared to be working to perfection as City simply racked up foul after foul and couldn't build anything of note.

The second half began with Messi hitting the post on 50 minutes with Dzeko's header forcing a marvelous save from Valdes down the other end only a minute later. Their long-term goalkeeper, who has announced his departure at the end of the season will be sorely missed.

Especially considering their replacement, Borussia MGB's Marc-Andre ter Stegen, is capable of this:

"Keeper sweeper" indeed.

On 67 minutes, Barca finally got their breakthrough via, who else, but Lionel Messi. Fed in by Fabregas, who actually played in more of a classic No. 10 role, the little Argentine dinked it over the on-rushing Joe Hart with glee. Hart, to his credit, looked fired up throughout and pulled off some fine saves but to no avail. Alongside the battling Vincent Kompany, he was amongst City's better players on the night.

On 78 minutes, Pablo Zabaleta picked up a second yellow card and was given his marching orders seconds after what looked like a clear-cut City penalty when Gerard Pique took down Dzeko. City were unfortunate in this regard and captain Kompany made his feelings clear about this in his post-match interview but they shouldn't overlook the fact that Lescott clearly fouled Messi inside the penalty area in the first half. Messi, a class act, didn't make a meal of it at the time.

With a minute of normal time remaining, City managed to equalise to make it 1-1 on the night when Kompany managed to turn in after a goalmouth scramble where some bodies had been in offside positions. During the confusion, the big Belgian did stay onside as the replay proved. That consolation goal was undone two minutes later however, as Daniel Alves, like he did in the first leg, stole down the right, receiving Iniesta's pass and getting on the scoresheet to put the final nail in City's coffin.

It was a game charged with emotion for City. The underlying feeling might be that their Premier League assault is slipping away from them, even with their three games in hand to catch up, and that doing well in the Champions League offered something that could console them were they to surrender the title to Chelsea or even Liverpool. Barcelona were by far the better side over the two legs however and much work is needed to turn City's billion dollar project into a legitimate European success story. One would wonder how safe Pellegrini's job is were he not to add to their Capital One Cup win this season.

Player Ratings

Barcelona

Valdes 7.5; Dani Alves 8.0, Pique 7.0, Mascherano 7.0, Jordi Alba 7.0; Busquets 7.0, Xavi 7.0, Iniesta 7.5; Messi* 8.5, Fabregas 8.0, Neymar 7.0 Subs: Alexis Sanchez -, Sergi Roberto -.

Man City

Hart 7.5; Zabaleta 6.5, Kompany 8.0, Lescott 5.5, Kolarov 6.5; Milner 6.0, Nasri 6.0, Fernandinho 6.0, Silva 5.5, Toure 6.5; Aguero 5.5 Subs: Dzeko 6.5, Negredo -.

* = man of the match

MATA SIGNING MORE A DECOY THAN A COUP

David Moyes has often repeated the need for the Premier League champions to rebuild this year despite inheriting a squad that very easily cruised to the title last season. Juan Mata represents the first part of that rebuilding process, their only other prior signing of note being Marouane Fellaini who could easily be crowned the worst transfer of the season by the time all is said and done.

Talented, but will he ever gain the legendary status of a Keane or Scholes?

Mata represents a marriage of convenience to United. Clearly not rated by Jose Mourinho, his quick transfer to Manchester is something we might see a lot more of in years to come. Super-rich clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City will build strong squads full of quality players with different sets of attributes in order to give themselves the variety and rotation potential needed to challenge on all fronts. Occasionally, a player like Mata will slip through the cracks. Clearly talented but perhaps not talented enough to be deemed unsellable by Mourinho, United have acquired an intelligent attacking midfielder who can play in a variety of positions but not exactly the positions they need strengthening in right now.

The major problems remain in the heart of defence with veterans Nemaja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand declining rapidly whilst the trio of Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and Phil Jones still carry big question marks with them. Left-back is another problem area with Patrice Evra's downturn and the central midfield conundrum still exists years after United should have signed a world class enforcer or pass-master to ease their fans' yearnings for the likes of a new Roy Keane or a Paul Scholes.

What might be of higher concern for United fans is their style of play this season. It is easy to pick apart personnel when the team is not playing well in general but good morale and confidence can make typically useful players seem even more functional and effective. A player like Michael Carrick can appear mediocre when the team is struggling but last season, many United fans argued that he was their unsung hero. Alex Ferguson had this huge motivational aura thanks to decades of collecting trophies. Moyes does not have this aura about him so any success he might have will be built on patience and assembling better players. Whether he can offer anything tactically is a big if. Moyes' teams at Everton could be threatening at times but they often had an agricultural feel about them and may have been seeking away draws, an attitude which just won't do at a club as huge and as ambitious as Manchester United. There is a lot of work to be done but Moyes has a lot of time to get this right. Regardless of where they finish this season, expect the red-haired Scot to be in the dug-out at the beginning of the 2014/15 campaign. If they get off to a bad start, only then can the #MoyesOut brigade expect to get what they want.

D. Ray Morton, 30 Jan 2014

Tottenham v Man City (Barclays Premier League) Match Review White Hart Lane - Wednesday 29th January 2014

QUESTIONABLE OFFICIATING DID NOT MASK CITY'S CLASS

Tottenham fans may feel some discontent over two major decisions that had an impact on last night's Premier League clash with Manchester City but very few can argue that they would have stood a chance had the officiating swung in their favour.

City exploded into action early on, dominating Spurs with waves of fluid attacking movement. Sergio Aguero terrorised the Tottenham back four with his direct running and unsurprisingly gave City the lead with a tidy finish, fed in by David Silva after 15 minutes. City continued to stretch what looked like an uncomfortable Spurs back four and it was something of a miracle that the first half ended only 0-1 to the visitors. Tottenham felt aggrieved that Michael Dawson's close range finish off a fine Christian Eriksen free kick had been ruled out for offside but the likelihood is that Emmanuel Adebayor's presence was enough to be seen as interference. The only down side to the half for City was Aguero being carted off just before the break. His hamstring problems often seem to arise just as he demonstrates that explosive ability which draws comparisons to likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

Tottenham can point towards the second half penalty that saw Danny Rose sent off harshly as the moment in the game where even a fighting chance had been lost. Rose's last ditch challenge on Edin Dzeko did win the ball but the towering Bosnian sold the tackle sufficiently and made the case very convincing for the referee and his assistants. On the assumption that Rose did not win the ball, they had no option but to show him red. An appeal may see his suspension removed. Under-performing on the night, Yaya Toure still slotted away the spot-kick and Dzeko made it 0-3 only moments later thanks to some sloppy defending. Etienne Capoue managed to pull one back before Aguero's replacement, Stevan Jovetic, got in on the act with a deflected strike whilst Vincent Kompany completed the rout with a couple of minutes remaining.

A reality call for Tottenham who had managed to string together some good results under their new manager Tim Sherwood. City can only take supreme confidence out of the performance despite Aguero's injury. Their quadruple quest continues although they might fret over their diminutive Argentine's condition in the lead-up to their clash against the might of another diminutive Argentine, Lionel Messi and his Barcelona, in the Champions League.

D. Ray Morton, 30 Jan 2014