PRE-WORLD CUP VACUUM IS TEDIOUS

D. Ray Morton, 1st June 2014.

The World Cup will be here very soon, finally, amidst fears of unbuilt stadiums

We have entered June and the World Cup will hit our TV screens in eleven days. This period between the end of the domestic football season and the world's biggest international sports event has been downright tedious, however.

Rumour mills have been overloaded and changes are afoot. Possibly the most ridiculous story that has broken out over the past couple of weeks is Yaya Touré's demand for a move away from Manchester City because the club did not acknowledge his birthday. That is one for the ages. An eight year-old could come up with a better excuse and if Touré and his agent do successfully negotiate a mega-bucks move away from the Etihad, City fans will feel both frustration at having lost a great player and the frustration of having egg on their face. Questions will be raised as to why a player like Touré, a freshly-crowned Premier League winner, would flee Manchester despite the riches on offer there. He has flirted with the idea of a return to Barcelona though the Catalan club are unlikely to approach him. Paris St. Germain are the favourites for his signature.

Eden Hazard is not exactly feeling the love at Chelsea right now

Speaking of PSG's attempts to further strengthen their growing empire, Eden Hazard could also be in their cross-hairs. Chelsea's Belgian winger is unsettled at Stamford Bridge due to manager José Mourinho's public announcement that Hazard does not play for the team. A puzzling statement about an extraordinary attacking talent, a future Balon d'Or winner in the making. Could there be some massive clean-up going on behind the scenes at Chelsea? PSG are throwing caution to the wind with their spending but Chelsea are tightening that belt and raking in the cash as evidenced by their swift decision to offload David Luiz to the Parisian giants last month. Are Chelsea forced to sell Hazard for, say, €70m? They are giving the impression that it would a tactical decision which could appease their supporters rather than showing it would be for financial stability. The sale of Hazard would cause waves, however. Bigger waves than a Yaya Touré move considering his age and vast potential. It would also demonstrate that PSG really are on the up and up and Chelsea are stagnating somewhat.

Poor Montolivo. Here is a token "sickening leg-break" snap

Another feature of this pre-carnival vacuum are the World Cup warm up matches. Such drudgery, understandable I guess, but dire to watch all the same. The level of excitement between a late season international friendly and an actual World Cup match is incomparable. These friendlies come at a cost too. Italy have lost Riccardo Montolivo to a horrendous leg break in last night's exhibition against Ireland at Craven Cottage. A huge blow for the azzurri as the AC Milan midfielder was expected to play a key role in their upcoming games against England, Uruguay and Costa Rica.

The only real points of interest so far have been some major managerial appointments. Manchester United have appointed Louis van Gaal, though it is becoming clear that he was not their first choice as the Red Devils sniffed out Borussia Dortmund's Jürgen Klopp and Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti before their futures had been determined. Van Gaal will be flung into an arena of high expectations, that is after he is done with the Netherlands' World Cup campaign which features a tough group with defending champions Spain, Chile and Australia.

Much-loved by the Barcelona faithful, how will he do now as a manager in the Camp Nou hot-seat?

Another fascinating appointment is Barcelona's decision to hire ex-player and ex-Barcelona B coach, Luis Enrique. Leaving his role at Celta Vigo, Enrique will bring a more familiar brand of attacking possession football to Camp Nou but it should be interesting to see how his "fitness freak" conditioning systems will rub off on what is a somewhat rattled squad that could not pick up any significant silverware last season. It will also be a key season for Lionel Messi, some having accused him of taking his foot off the gas to save himself for Argentina's World Cup. Can he recapture his status as the world's finest player or will Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo seize the glory again? Winning a World Cup in-between might be just the tonic Messi needs.

With Tottenham Hotspur poaching manager Mauricio Pochettino from Southampton, one of the funnier quotes this week came from Real Madrid's Angel di Maria: "It hurts when you're always doing your best for your club and then you hear that you might be going to Tottenham." Inadvertently humiliating to Spurs, Pochettino will need to give his squad the kick up the backside to make them a serious club again. He has been challenged with providing that holy grail of a top four finish, a familiar tune from Daniel Levy, and the pressure will be on if results do not match expected standards.

So between preposterous big money transfers, broken legs in friendlies and more managerial merry-go-round, we just want to get on with the World Cup at long last. Will the stadiums be up to scratch? Will Brazil triumph as expected? Bring it on for goodness sake.

SOCCERSTASH PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE SEASON

D. Ray Morton, 23rd April 2014.

Goalkeeper: David De Gea (Manchester United)

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

CHELSEA HUMBLED IN PARIS AMIDST GAZE OF THE "PREMFACE" BRIGADE

CHELSEA HUMBLED IN PARIS AMIDST GAZE OF THE "PREMFACE" BRIGADE

D. Ray Morton, 3rd April 2014.

Substitute Javier Pastore reels away in celebration after making it 3-1 in late injury time

José Mourinho and Chelsea were dealt a tough night in Paris last evening thanks to goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi, Javier Pastore and an own goal from David Luiz to cancel out Eden Hazard's penalty for the visitors.

It was a game that lulled at times but this suited Paris St. Germain as a tired-looking Chelsea were not able to play at full intensity. Nemanja Matić was cup-tied after his involvement with Benfica earlier on in this Champions League season, and his calming defensive midfield presence was sorely missed.

The Parisians stunned Mourinho's side early on when Lavezzi was able to pounce on a loose ball in the penalty area and volleyed home beautifully with his left foot. Zlatan Ibrahimović had received all the attention before kick-off but it was his supporting cast of Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani that stole the spotlight on this occasion. The wide attacking duo tormented Chelsea not only with their offensive movement but also by covering back and preventing the visitors from exploiting the flanks.

Ramires diligently covered ground in midfield, pressing Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti with regularity but picked up a yellow card in process which will see him out of the second leg in London next week. PSG have a worry of their own in that Ibrahimović was hauled off with what looked like a hamstring injury. Such strains don't heal that rapidly and there's a good chance he'll miss next week's encounter also. Such as the strength of their squad however, they should be able to cope. Brazilian starlet Lucas Moura came on during the second half and troubled Chelsea with his elusive dribbling skills.

Chelsea's equaliser was somewhat fortuitous. Oscar went down in the penalty area under an awkward challenge from compatriot Thiago Silva. Such was the centre half's positioning that the referee cannot be blamed for awarding the spot-kick although replays seemed to indicate that Silva had at least gotten a bit of the ball. Hazard buried the penalty and that was Chelsea's last shot on target for the evening. After only 28 minutes.

Chelsea had opted for a "strikerless" formation with André Schürrle up front on his own, a tactic only used twice this season, once against Bayern Munich in the European Super Cup and again against Manchester United early on in the campaign where a 0-0 result seemed solid at the time. Here, it worked to an extent. With Schürrle dropping into the midfield, Motta and Verratti found themselves pressured more often than they would in an average Ligue 1 match. It was Mourinho's decision to replace the German with Fernando Torres in the second half where things began to unravel.

Sky Sports' panel came up with the ludicrous conclusion that Chelsea were in complete control by half-time. Perhaps they were, if control means aimlessly pressing to the point of exhaustion and playing into the hands of a highly technical home side with many individuals capable of coming up with a match-winning moment of flair. The lead goal didn't require any flair, however. The ticking defensive time bomb that is David Luiz couldn't get the ball out of his feet from Lavezzi's whipped free-kick and ended up putting it in his own net. It became a calamitous night for Luiz after being one of Chelsea's better players in the first half.

The visitors looked tired but seemed content to take a 2-1 defeat back home. That was until substitute Javier Pastore came up with a bit of magic late on in injury time. Picking the ball up on the right flank, he managed to slip into the Chelsea penalty area near the by-line, skimmed Frank Lampard and smashed home past Petr Čech from a narrow angle. That little bit of magic made it 3-1 and makes next week's proposition much harder for an infuriated Mourinho.

Mourinho described PSG's third goal as "ridiculous"

He dubbed the third goal as "ridiculous" and didn't write off their second leg prospects but described it as "a difficult job, not impossible". Clearly dissatisfied at Fernando Torres' contribution he thought the substitution would give them more depth: "a bit more". The Spanish club record signing is clearly in the doghouse and there's very little chance he'll remain in Mourinho's first-team squad next season.

The Sky trio of Jamie Redknapp, Jamie Carragher and Glenn Hoddle seemed perplexed at what they had just seen. In unison, thinking Chelsea were "in control" at half-time, they didn't offer any real explanation as to how Chelsea had just been outclassed. Hoddle even went as far as suggesting that PSG were weak at the back despite having Brazil's captain and arguably the world's best defender in Thiago Silva. Classic "premface" opinion again on display.

The second leg should remain a decent spectacle and Chelsea are not necessarily out. Lavezzi and Cavani will remember from their time at Napoli that Chelsea are capable of overturning a 3-1 first leg defeat but considering PSG's overall quality, it's a much bigger ask this time.

SHERWOOD RIGHT TO LAMBAST ABJECT SPURS

SHERWOOD RIGHT TO LAMBAST ABJECT SPURS

D. Ray Morton, 9th March 2013.

Chelsea proved they were the cream of the London crop yesterday evening with a comfortable 4-0 win that keeps fueling their Premier League title effort. Mourinho's men won convincingly thanks to goals from Samuel Eto'o, a penalty from Eden Hazard and a brace from substitute striker Demba Ba. Chelsea look as likely as anyone to top the table at the end of the season now but the focus here will be on the hopelessness of Tottenham Hotspur, manager Tim Sherwood's reaction to it and how a certain other in the media sees it.

Any 4-0 defeat makes for bad reading but, as mentioned several times this season about Spurs, the manner in which they lost was most disappointing. This wasn't Chelsea at their best. They didn't need to be. Each of the four goals could be classified as gifts. Though Spurs made themselves compact in the first half, giving away few clear cut chances and even looking like they might create a few of their own, their second half capitulation was abysmal.

Eto'o opened the scoring in the 56th minute after an error by Jan Vertonghen in what was probably his worst performance as a Spurs player. Barcelona have been sniffing around for his signature due to their need for a ball-playing defender and after such a miserable performance, Daniel Levy should consider cashing in.

The second goal came only four minutes later. Eto'o was picked out inside the penalty area, took a heavy touch and fell under the momentum of Younes Kaboul's covering run. There was very little contact and there were plenty of players around but referee Michael Oliver still felt the need to issue a red card and a penalty. I have examined the penalty/dismissal laws before but in this incident, there was nothing cynical about Kaboul's approach and the referee seemed to get it completely wrong as agreed with by Gary Neville in his Sky Sports commentary. Hazard slotted home the spot-kick and the game was over as a contest effectively.

Half an hour of Jose Mourinho smiles followed until Demba Ba, this time, was given a present by the continually struggling Vertonghen. Slipping in possession inside his own third, rather than knocking the ball out of play, he attempted a desperate pass back which Hugo Lloris couldn't reach. The Senegalese took the chance with aplomb. About a minute later, more madness from Spurs at the back. Lloris cleared away with his feet only to receive a header back from Nabil Bentaleb who must not have seen Demba Ba standing way beyond what would be the offside line. Ba competed with the French goalkeeper and slipped it past him to score the easiest of tap-ins. Tim Sherwood looked on furiously as Jose Mourinho made an early escape for the dressing room barely able to disguise his elation.

Tactically, there wasn't a whole lot that Sherwood did wrong. Jokingly nicknamed "Tactics Tim" for the perception that he doesn't like to bog down his side with the instructions that made Andre Villas Boas so unpopular with the playing staff, Spurs were set up quite well yesterday. He had fielded Kyle Walker at right midfield in order to double up on Eden Hazard and, removing individuals errors and some dodgy refereeing, it might have worked.

Sherwood went on the offensive in his post-match interview: "You can't legislate for the capitulation - you can't have that" he stated. "Lack of characters, too many of them too nice to each other and you need to show a bit more guts and not want to be someone's mate all the time. They need to drag it out of each other."

Sherwood was right. It wasn't strategies that cost them such a heavy thrashing. It was attitude. This is the same poisonous attitude that has persisted all season and resulted in two heavy defeats to Manchester City, another from Liverpool and an utterly humiliating 3-0 defeat to West Ham at home.

Glenn Hoddle, whenever there is speculation over a manager's future, again took the opportunity to criticise whilst subtly flying his kite for the Spurs job which might not necessarily go to Louis van Gaal, as expected, in the summer. In response to Sherwood's post-match views, he interjected: "I agree he was very honest but personally that's something you say in the dressing room to the players. You might come out and disguise what your feelings are." Words of wisdom from a man who lost the England job for suggesting that disabled people were being punished from "past lives".

Tottenham do deserve to be criticised publicly and Sherwood would only have been untrue to himself if he had stated otherwise. No-one expects Tottenham to get into the top four now and no-one expects Sherwood to stay on as their boss. His honesty was refreshing however and it's a shame that he's now caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to landing his next job. Primarily a coach, will he want to take that step back after being in the main hot seat? Will Spurs even want to keep him on as a coach? Regardless, the message has been clear. Tottenham have not been good enough this season and don't deserve any credit after what was a grim performance at Stamford Bridge yesterday.