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⚽️ Why English Clubs fail in Europe 🏟

09 Friday Mar 2012

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The Manchester Clubs were defeated in the first legs of their Europa League fixtures yesterday. In the case of City, losing by one goal to Sporting Lisbon may have had more to do with their own internal issues than with the quality of their opposition who were well organised and held back only by the resolute goalkeeper that is Joe Hart. City looked tired and out of sorts, and still appear to have problems adjusting to Europe, which given the speed of their progress is understandable.

United however, were outplayed outclassed and well out…everything by a team from Spain called Athletic Bilbao.  That United have a one-goal deficit had more to do more with Athletic missing a number of chances than how Alex Ferguson’s men played on the night.

Yes, we have seen the emergence of a new Spanish powerhouse, however, the question has to asked as to what is to become of the English clubs – the Europa League was meant to be Europe’s First Division, well try telling that Athletic who taught the once great European side that was Manchester United how to play with speed, skill and sheer talent.

Arsenal heroics the other night against AC Milan in the Champions League may have been celebrated by the fans, however the truth is they were completely outplayed in the first leg and all Milan had to do was sit back and soak up the pressure for the return fixture at the Emirates.

Robin Van Persie’s miss at the end was not a real reflection of the gap between the two sides.

And Chelsea, who have never really looked like winning the Champions League title ever, have it all to do against Napoli if they are to progress into the quarter-final.

It’s going to take more than getting rid of AVB to come back from a 3-1 defeat here.

Years ago, 2004 if my memory serves me right, a  cab driver gave me the low down on the English game. He believed that English football just did not cut it against the Europeans, something you could clearly see reflected by the continued failure of the national side  and that those foreign players that were lured by the money to play here lost their vitality so that they never the same players ever again.

Trouble is he was right then, and what he said then, is also true today.

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England v Holland, Wembley Stadium, 2-3

01 Thursday Mar 2012

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Stuart Pearce, England’s stand in coach, fielded a young side for this warm up for the Euros and it was not a complete failure by any means.

Sure, England’s lack of experience when pitted against world-class opposition that included Arjen Robben and Arsenal’s Robin van Persie was clear for all who were present at Wembley last night.

The Dutch – who were awful in that World Cup final defeat to Spain – played with in themselves and always looked as if they could step up a gear when they needed to.

And they grabbed two excellent goals within three minutes to take the lead in the second half.

However, England got two back with some well worked moves which should be something that a future coach could build on.

Of course, Holland were the better team, everyone could see that, however there was enough to hint at a brighter future if you are an England fan.

It’s too early to start talking about emerging stars and based on previous experience not a good idea – so the best that can be said of this game is that a highly experimental England side worked hard, played with spirit and at the end left enough to encourage the home of football.

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Munich Brawl

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Over the weekend, some one called David Haye started to shout abuse at a press conference held for someone who had just lost to Wladimir Klitschko.

The defeated contender one Dereck Chisora was filmed threatening to shoot that person called Haye.

Before his defeat to Klitschko, Chisora had spat in the face of his opponent. Kiltschko, with the grace that has marked the career of the giant Russian, just left his talking for inside the ring.

Now, there is talk of banning the two clowns who think that by acting like Mike Tyson they are the great man.

Well things are a bit more complicated than that – Klitschko does in every way resemble Evander Holyfield, Tyson’s one truly worthy opponent.

And that’s where the similarities end.

For until the emergence of Holyfield, Tyson had floored everyone in sight – take a good look at Trevor Berbick’s reaction to meeting that famously sharp fist, see also Larry Holmes who remarked that he felt his fight with Tyson was something personal – it was mate, he was getting you back for what you did to his hero Muhammad Ali.

Then, two things happened.

First,  of course there was the emergence of Holyfield and there was also Tyson’s personal life which was on a downward spiral following the death of his trainer, a messy divorce which was followed a period in prison for rape. The Tyson that met Holyfield after all that was slower and far more frustrated and angrier as a result.

Those who hate and taunt Tyson for what he has done, may also want to consider that the World of Boxing has never been same since his departure.

You only have to look at those ludicrous events of the weekend in Munich to know that.

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Arsene Wenger (Should he stay or should he go?)

19 Sunday Feb 2012

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ANALYSIS – With his team crashing out of the FA Cup to a hungrier Sunderland, to cap a week when they were taken apart by AC Milan, there will be those who will wonder whether the great man will be there next season.

Most likely he will remain – only Arsene may want to take into account the contributions two of England’s best coaches have made, Tottenham’s Harry Redknapp and the man who masterminded today’s defeat, Martin O’Neil, namely to keep things tight, don’t leave gaps for the opposition to exploit whether at the front or back.

Those of us who were admirers of Arsenal always feared that the lack of one strong player at the back and at the front would cost them in the long run.

Arsenal were so long the purveyors of the beautiful game, but who ever said beauty can’t be backed up by some steel and old-fashioned grit.

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AC Milan v Arsenal, Champions League, Ist Leg

16 Thursday Feb 2012

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Arsenal were outplayed, outclassed and were completely out of their depth last night. AC Milan actually struggled to get to this stage – there again who wouldn’t with Barcelona in your group – you would never have guessed it by the way they took apart Arsene Wenger’s men last night – 4-0 was being kind, this was men against boys, and the appearance of their legend Thierry Henry for one last hurrah only hinted that this was Arsenal that was on  the field at the San Siro and that this was one of the best teams in Europe.

Robinho netted two – the first of which came after a stunning volley from Kevin Prince Boeting, and everytime you looked at the coach’s corner, the usually authoritative Arsene Wenger looked more lost than the rest of us.

If rumours that Henry wants to continue prove to be true, then this Arsenal team will need him for Robin Van Persie is currently carrying this side and that can’t last forever.

Those who thought Arsenal had moved on from that 8-2 drubbing from Manchester United, may want to think again.

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👓 Fabio Capello 🥅 🏟

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Fabio Capello’s fate was sealed during that World Cup game with Germany when an England team who had until the last ten minutes of the first half been completely outclassed fought back by applying pressure on their much younger rivals.

The same was expected in the second half, but did not occur which allowed Germany to get back into the game on their own terms.

Perhaps, a Martin O Neill or Harry Redknapp would have seen the opportunity, the vastly overpaid and  over-rated Fabio Capello did not.

The FA have alot of questions to ask about this whole saga – why did they appoint this man in the first place to run a team of players that were not despite what was being claimed a golden generation.

Truth is England have only once looked like winning a tournament – Euro 96 under the creative genius that was Terry Venables.

And what happened to him then?

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🏏 Pakistan v England Second Test at Abu Dhabi 🏟

28 Saturday Jan 2012

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ABU DHABI – For three days and three-quarters of this test match England looked as if they would handsomely avenge the humiliation of the first.

Then, their batting folded inside two hours for 72 runs.

Andrew Strauss later said the wicket was excellent and good for cricket giving everyone a chance.

That though does not explain how the world’s number one  side collapsed to her lowest ever score against Pakistan, when she was only chasing 144 to win. This is a Pakistan team that is blooding new players, and has very little apart from Younis Khan and Gul in terms of experience.  Perhaps, they are more hungry than an England team who currently have four excellent bowlers in Broad, Anderson, Panesar and Swann, and a world-class batsman in Kevin Pieterson and little else. On their day, in familiar conditions, Morgan, Bell, Trott et al can fire, but if they are to remain number one that will not be good enough.

Pakistan first innings score of 257 was about a hundred runs short, and with a lead of 70  England took the attack to a brittle Pakistan batting line up in the second innings, with Panesar justifying his inclusion with 6-62.

Panesar could not have guessed that his opposite number, one Abdur Rehman, would go on to destroy the English batting line up finishing with 6-25.

Pakistan’s other spinner, Saeed- the dorsra – Ajmal also became the fastest Pakistani to secure 100 wickets, beating Wasim Akram and Mohammed Amir, who is currently serving a prison sentence for spot fixing.

Pakistan, led by a very impressive and stable Misbah, are looking like a team with a bright future.

At present, the records just keep being broken.

England for their part have lost this test series.

Perhaps, its now time to dump some of those players that have not performed – and have been frankly flattered by their previous performances – and try out players keen for the chance to shine.

The inclusion of Ravi Bhopra in the Third Test at Dubai would be a start.

SECOND TEST, ABU DHABI

PAKISTAN 257

ENGLAND 327

PAKISTAN 214 PANESAR 6 – 62

ENGLAND 72 REHMAN 6 – 25, AJMAL 3 – 22

PAKISTAN WON BY 72 RUNS

*SAEED AJMAL BECAME THE FASTEST PAKISTAN BOWLER TO REACH 100 WICKETS

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🏏 Pakistan v England, Ist Test at Dubai 🏟 🇵🇰 – 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

19 Thursday Jan 2012

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Pakistan have defeated England by ten wickets, a victory achieved in three days. This was a comprehensive defeat for the world’s number one ranked team at the hands of a thoroughly professional – bet no one has ever said that about a Pakistan cricket side before –  team, which if you didn’t know had been rocked by a spotfixing scandal which resulted in three star players serving prison sentences.

To be honest, you would never have guessed that there had been any such problem by the manner in which they steamrollered England, who didn’t seem to have grasped that being number one means that everyone wants to have ago at you.

The first innings was the Saeed Ajmal show, the off spinner showing that you don’t have to be Abdul Qadir to destroy a batting line up.

Predictably, there was someone on hand to cast doubt on his amazing preformance – five LBWs in his seven wicket haul at a cost of 55 runs.

Bob Willis – the former England captain who destroyed the career of fast bowler Norman Cowans – said the famed ‘dosra’ amounted to chucking.

He made his comments on Sky – and thankfully not on the cricket field, remember all those comments about bad umpiring that accompanied Abdul Qadir’s nine wicket haul for 56 in the first test at Lahore in 1987, or accusations of ball tampering when Waqar and Wasim used Sarfraz Nawaz’s sandshoe ball with devastating results.

The spot fixing saga was unique, because for the first time Pakistani players were in the wrong, which gave their detractors – all of whom would swear that they are not racist –  free rein.

England’s bowlers, especially James Anderson and Stuart Broad, clawed back their position late on the second day, however, Akmal – replacing his brother, the light fingered Kamran as wicketkeeper – posted 61 which probably swung the game decisively in Pakistan’s favour.

With seven wickets down for 87 in their second innings, England were finished. Fans of Kevin Pieterson will have to wait another day to see him shine, for England’s most gifted batsman managed a meagre two runs in both innings.

England’s postmortem – once some stop  complaining about Ajmal’s bowling technique – will focus on poor shot selection, a lack of preparation, the truth is though Pakistan led by Misbah ul Haq, who is a calm, seemingly natural leader, have signalled they are back, and they have done so by trouncing the best team in the world.

Wonder what England’s response will be at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

FIRST TEST AT DUBAI

ENGLAND 192  Ajmal 7 – 55

PAKISTAN 338

ENGLAND 160

PAKISTAN 10 – 0

PAKISTAN WIN BY TEN WICKETS

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FA Cup Third Round Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3

09 Monday Jan 2012

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Yesterday’s FA Cup tie between the big Manchester clubs was a classic, the type of game that reminds you why football can be such a compelling sport, with echoes of that great encounter between Manchester United and Barcelona some thirteen years ago, something not lost on two of the players who played during that great Champions League semi and who were amazingly still present as players at the Etihad stadium – Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

This was not Brazil v Italy 1982, but it was stil very very good.

Seemingly finished by three goals by their bitter rivals, the last two after the referee had sent off Vincent Kompay in controversial circumstances, City retreated to the dressing room where manager Roberto Mancini showed why this team is currently sitting on the top of the Premier League.

A shift in tactics to make up for the missing player quickly saw results with a stunning free kick from Aleksander Kolarov – from now on the pressure came from City as they attempted to claw back another two goals.

That they failed to do so had more to do with bad luck than the superiority of a United side who despite this victory still looked a pale shadow of its former great self.

With more players committed to the back, the onus was on Sergio Auegro. After missing one clear chance, he did not disappoint again.

With the second in the bag, City kept on trying.

Another Kolarov freekick was struck at the goalkeeper, although United’s Anders Lindegaard did not know much about it.

In the dying seconds, even City’s keeper Costel Pantilimon who had virtually nothing to do in the second half, was attacking in one last desperate attempt to get that goal that would do for the FA Cup holders.

Had City shown the same passion in the first half – perhaps they would not have lost, but there again we would not have seen one of the great counter attacks in recent times.

United won – perhaps avenging the 6-1 League drubbing at Old Trafford – but Alex Ferguson now knows that City have gelled into a team that can no longer be regarded as a poor rival.

Some people are saying that the games between these two big Manchester Clubs are beginning the el classico encounters between Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

If that is the case, then the emergence of Mancini’s City may yet be the biggest challenge facing the United boss.

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