All posts by h79snht.top

For any football fan to come to the conclusion that Spurs have the best of any anything, no offence Tottenham, in the Premier League seems slightly more than unlikely, yet that is the prospect we are faced with. They might have qualified outside of the top four last year, but perhaps that was down to their maiden season in the Champions League rather than a poor squad. If their squad last year was good then the additions this year have taken it to the next level. In particular their midfield is arguably the best in the league. Last year I think it was Arsenal’s. Any midfield that had Nasri on his then form, Fabregas and Wilshere all playing in the centre was always going to be formidable, however this year Spurs have taken the mantle from their north London rivals.

It’s not just that Scott Parker has proved to be one of the best buys of the summer; it is that the players around him have grown as well. Parker may be the only addition to the Spurs midfield from last year but he has acted as a catalyst in the middle, liberating his team-mates, especially Luka Modric.

There weren’t many people, other than Daniel Levy, who wouldn’t have simply taken the £40m offered by Chelsea for Modric in the summer. It seemed an extortionately large sum for a player who whilst very good was never worth that much. I’m not saying that he is worth that now, but Modric’s performances this season have at least proved that Levy was right to hang on to him. Last season when Modric was playing beside Wilson Palacios or Tom Huddlestone on Sandro he was playing well but the sheer amount of work Parker does for the team means that Modric has been allowed to play with a sense of freedom that very few in Premier League midfields are allowed. As a result I don’t think that there is a team that Modric, on his current form, would not get in to.

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They also have arguably the best winger in the league in Gareth Bale. David Silva’s form this season was untouchable for the first few months but that form has cooled in recent weeks and whilst Bale has a similar level of technical ability his physical attributes greatly outweigh those of Silva. Clearly on his day there doesn’t seem to be anyone better than Silva but for consistency in quality performances there are none better than Bale. He has also improved a lot this year from last. This season he has seven assists in the league. That is already more than his last three years put together.

Then you have Aaron Lennon on the right, he clearly isn’t the best right-winger in the league, but he has improved a lot. You have to watch Lennon regularly to realise just how consistent and valuable he is for the Tottenham team. Though his recent spell on the sidelines was only for a few weeks it was clear to see how much Spurs missed him. His acceleration, first touch and driving runs are crucial for opening up space in opposition teams and when you combine his presence with that of Gareth Bale on the other wing the partnership they have is ruthless. It may not be a conventional partnership in that very few passes are played between the two but both rely on the other. With both Bale and Lennon on the pitch it not only stops opposition full backs from attacking but it stretches them defensively.

So if you consider that midfield four of Bale, Modric, Parker and Lennon, then remember that Spurs have Van der Vaart, Huddlestone, Sandro, Pienaar and Kranjcar as reserves it is hard to argue against the fact that not only do Spurs have the best starting midfield players but also the best strength in depth. Clearly Man City has some very talented individuals. Samir Nasri, David Silva and Yaya Toure are all exceptional players. However Adam Johnson, Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry are consistently underwhelming in their performances and even Silva and Nasri have been disappointing over the Christmas period. No other teams even come close, United have excellent wingers but the fact that they need to bring a 37-year-old Paul Scholes out of retirement is testament to the quality of their other central midfielders. Then you have Liverpool who have extravagantly assembled the most mediocre midfield in the league, Chelsea who lack a defensive midfielder or any real midfield partnerships and Arsenal who are desperately trying to deal with a season in which they lost Nasri, Fabregas and Wilshere all at the same time. Believe me, as an Arsenal fan, it took me a long time to come around to this conclusion, but ultimately you can’t really argue against it. Hopefully it won’t last.

Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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Liverpool look set to welcome the return of captain Steven Gerrard shortly after the England midfielder spent an extended period on the sidelines with a serious groin injury, but how will his return effect the shape of the side? With Suarez now unquestionably top dog, will Carroll be the one to make way in this Liverpool side’s ever-evolving line-up?

Kenny Dalglish has shown himself to be an extremely difficult manager to read when it comes to team selection since his return to the managerial seat at Anfield. While many may have questioned whether his ethos had become outdated during his time away from the game, he’s actually been rather proactive and versatile when it comes to individual selections and the formations he’s picked, with the Scot never afraid to mix it up and do the unexpected.

Liverpool, for my money at least, have performed best with Suarez as the focal point of their attack. Having a false number nine up top has brought the best out those around him.

With Andy Carroll in the side, though, Liverpool have looked, ponderous, slow in possession and lacking in ideas going forward. This is not entirely down to the Geordie front man alone, it’s just that his style of play seems to be in direct contrast to what gets the best out of the rest of the side at the moment.

Carroll still looks to be struggling for fitness on top of that and dare I say it, carrying an extra pound or two to truly trouble a defender in anything other than the air at the moment. While I may not place too much stock in the premature talk of him being a ‘flop’, he does look short of match fitness and a tad on the leggy side. Dropping him from the starting eleven may not be what’s best for him, but at the moment it may be what’s best for the rest of the side.

In his absence, Suarez took up the mantle and ran with it. The diminutive Uruguayan managed to bring the best out of Dirk Kuyt as an attacking force and the two’s link play has been simply superb at times. Although the Dutchman‘s starting place has most often been taken away at the expense of Carroll when he‘s started, he‘s both a hard-working defensive winger that offers a threat going forward and should be a regular starter.

Stewart Downing’s ability to deliver from both wings, coupled with his work ethic should ensure that his stay in the starting eleven is a prolonged one. He can frustratingly drift in and out of game at the moment, but on the whole, his form has been decent.

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The middle of midfield is where the true selection headache lies, with two of Lucas, Henderson, Adam and the returning skipper Gerrard to pick from. It well and truly depends on whether Dalglish persists with Carroll and Suarez up top for the time being. Should he choose to drop Carroll for now, an extra spot opens up and with it, a place for Gerrard.

Lucas will most certainly get the nod due to his dependability both positionally and in the tackle, with the fact that he’s the club’s only recognised holding midfielder surely not going unnoticed. He’s been an ever-present since Dalglish’s return and the Scot is thought to rate him highly.

Charlie Adam always seems to make some sort of mark on the game and his passing ability from the middle and vision to spot the darting runs of Downing and Suarez further forward add an extra dimension to Liverpool’s attacking play.

Henderson offers versatility, dynamism and vision, however, he is yet to fully lay down his marker in the side. His versatility, while his biggest strength and part of the reason why Dalglish pursued his signature with such vigour in the summer, could also turn out to be his biggest hindrance. He lacks positional discipline, partly due to his inexperience and he as such, he lacks a discernible role in the side as yet.

Gerrard has shown himself to be a more than capable second-striker, particularly during his destructive partnership with Fernando Torres. He is perhaps the best one-on-one finisher in the country and he’d be ideally suited, in the years to come, to eventually becoming a predatory striker.

During the ill-fated Hodgson reign, Gerrard tried to reinvent himself as a Xabi-Alonso styled player. A deep-lying playmaker of sorts. The result was that in order to try and drop back and instigate play, Gerrard left a Gerrard-shaped hole further forward up the pitch to finish off these moves off. The arrival and emergence of Suarez has now changed this. So too has the arrival of Charlie Adam, though, and the need for Gerrard the quarterback is no more.

The England midfielder has often seen himself as a conventional central midfielder, but his best form of his career for both club and country has come either on the right wing, in a free role or as a second striker. He’s simply not the player he wants to be. The temptation to try the ‘Hollywood’ pass at every given opportunity means his strengths don’t suit those traditionally associated with that of a quarterbacking midfielder.

Liverpool are still a side going through a transitional phase. Results such as the deeply disappointing defeat to Spurs at the weekend are not uncommon through such a period and there will be more of them over the course of a long campaign.

The temptation to thrust an unfit Gerrard into the team will be great, but so far Dalglish has sensibly erred on the side of caution. However, there will come a time in the near future when Gerrard is raring to go and a decision will need to be made.

The club has often been derided in the past as a one-man or two-man team. With the emergence of Luis Suarez as a key figure over the last few months, Liverpool’s best performances have coincided with him as the lone front man.

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Whether that makes them a one-man team again remains to be seen, but the Liverpool of old appears to have gone and in order to get the best out the talent available, Gerrard may have to adjust, albeit in a familiar role, to the new one-man team at the club, even if that means leaving £35m worth of striker on the bench for the foreseeable future.

You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/JamesMcManus1

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New Roma signing Bojan Krkic wants to put his bitter departure from European champions Barcelona behind him.The Spain Under-21 international criticised Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola after signing for his new Serie A employers on Friday.

But Krkic says he has moved on and is focused on producing his best form for Luis Enrique’s team.

“Well, first of all I’m very happy to be here. I came from a big club, but I have moved to a big club and for me it is a dream to be here,” Krkic said on Monday.

“Regarding Guardiola and Barcelona, for me it is finished. I only want to think about Roma.”

“Coming here to work for Luis Enrique makes me think a lot of things. It was because of him that I made my decision to come here and I want to thank him for that.”

The 20-year-old is hopeful of taking inspiration from former Arsenal and Barcelona forward Thierry Henry after choosing to wear the number 14 jersey this season.

After his departure from La Liga, Krkic admitted he had not spoken to Guardiola since May’s UEFA Champions League final and said he did not think the Spaniard was the best coach in the world.

Despite yesterday reporting that Mark Hughes was the man for the job, BBC Sport have today broken the story that Martin O’Neill is in fact set to be appointed as the new Sunderland boss.

O’Neill has been the odds on bookies favourite since the departure of Steve Bruce, and has been linked with multiple posts since leaving his last club, Aston Villa. The former Celtic manager has a stellar reputation as a manger and is seen by the Sunderland board as the man to pull the club away from the relegation zone, which they currently sit two points above, only managing to win two times this season.

The Sunderland board are keen to install a new manager as soon as possible and regain some semblance of stability at the club, with caretaker manager Eric Black not seen as the man to do this long term.

O’Neill for his part is excited about taking on the challenge at Sunderland, and is willing to abide by the budgetary constraints at the Black Cats and work with players who are already there. As Celtic manager said, O’Neill has a history of being able to ‘lift clubs’ and feels that he is more than ready to get back into the game – a sentiment that O’Neill himself certainly shares. It seems that this will be at Sunderland, and sooner rather than later.

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Watching Tottenham Hotspur last season, there were moments when you could see that accommodating Rafael Van der Vaart in the side had consequences. His desire to be on the ball and involved at all times was at odds with his advanced role in the team, sitting just off Peter Crouch. He would often, frustratingly, be seen in between the centre backs, picking the ball off their toes and playing a long ball out to the wings. This constant dropping off was unnecessary. Luka Modric and Tom Huddlestone were more than capable of starting Tottenham’s moves and Van der Vaart’s constant movement was at times more confusing than it was advantageous.

So, after a season, does Rafael Van der Vaart fit in Tottenham’s midfield? Can both Luka Modric’s and Van der Vaart’s creative styles work together? I think the answer is yes, if only Van der Vaart plays with slightly more positional discipline.

In the current starting eleven both players fit well, Modric controls possession and tempo in the centre of the pitch whilst Van der Vaart drops to link with him and flood central midfield but also pushes on to feed on Crouch’s knockdowns. The only time it doesn’t work is when Van der Vaart feels starved of the ball. Allowed a free reign by Redknapp, Van der Vaart upsets the balance when he gets impatient and starts attempting to do everything on his own. Whilst Modric plays the patient, percentage, possession game, Van der Vaart likes to move the ball forward quickly. It may be a contrast of styles but it is not a conflict, the two players compliment each other well and their respective styles are well balanced.

Had Tottenham possessed a front man who could put the ball in the net, the true quality of Modric and Van der Vaart as a creative force would have been seen. Modric created 66 goalscoring opportunities last season, one behind Van der Vaart, the fact that our leading striker scored 10 (Pavlyuchenko) shows where it all went wrong.

Both players have a confidence on the ball that makes their quality obvious to see, it would be a great shame if they could not be accommodated in the same side, fortunately I think they can and I hope they will be next season. If Van der Vaart stops dropping all the way back to get the ball, and out of somewhere we find an in form striker I’ll be a happy man.

Do you agree? Would Redknapp be better off with a traditional 4-4-2?

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Liverpool and Sunderland shared the spoils at Anfield in what was the battle of the debutants.

No fewer than 7 players made their debuts for their respective new clubs, in a game that was very much a clichéd game of two halves.

Liverpool was by far the better team in the first half and created numerous chances and although Luis Suarez missed an early penalty, was able to head home from the impressive Charlie Adam.

The penalty caused friction within the Liverpool camp who felt that Phil Dowd should have sent off Kieran Richardson for the challenge on the Uruguayan. Whether Dowd felt Suarez was going away from goal remains unknown, but it is hard to argue that this was a goalscoring opportunity that was thwarted by Richardson’s challenge. Dowd issued a yellow much to the dismay of the Reds.

Sunderland impressed in the second half and looked the much better of the two teams and scored a wonderful equaliser through Sebastian Larsson. Sessegnon’s cross was met with an acrobatic effort from the Swedish international that gave Pepe Reina absolutely no chance.

Both sides huffed and puffed in the end but neither could make a breakthrough to secure the points. The spoils were shared in a result that Steve Bruce would arguably be the happier with.

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Manchester City have confirmed that they have reached a ten-year agreement with Etihad Airways to rename the City of Manchester Stadium. As reported yesterday, the Eastlands club arranged a press conference for Friday, and chief executive Gary Cook, along with his equivalent in the investors James Hogan, revealed the news to the press.

The Asian organisation already hold the shirt sponsorship of Roberto Mancini’s side, which is worth £2.3million a year and it is believed that the stadium rename will bring £10-12 million investment per season.

“We are delighted to be expanding our relationship with Etihad Airways through this comprehensive partnership agreement. The partnership will not only cover a shirt sponsorship extension, but also the Etihad Stadium,” Cook confirmed in the press conference.

“The wider area around the stadium will be known as the Etihad Campus. There are other elements, such as media, business and community co-operation. It could be one of the most important arrangements in the history of world football.

“Most importantly, in addition to delivering significant revenue at a key stage in the club’s evolution, the agreement creates exciting opportunities for our two organisations to co-operate more deeply commercially and on media and community initiatives in the future,” he continued.

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The club are expecting to be investigated by Uefa’s Financial Fair Play committee due to the close relationship between the investors and City’s owners. The deal has immediately sparked speculation of increased transfer activity, with Sergio Aguero and Samuel Eto’o linked with moves to the Etihad Stadium in The Daily Mail.

Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier will be absent from the dugout for Saturday’s match against Stoke, having been admitted to hospital with chest pains.The former Liverpool manager needed a major heart operation during his time at Anfield but will not require surgery this time.

Villa assistant Gary McAllister will take charge for the match at Villa Park and he said: “He is on the coronary ward. He was great and bubbly. He had a tough night but he was looking surprisingly well and in fine fettle.”

“They (the specialists) are definitely saying there is no surgery needed, which is a massive plus.”

“The last time there was major surgery. This time there will be no surgery needed, purely medicine and rest.”

Villa are likely to be unchanged after collecting seven points from their previous three games to climb into the top half of the table, easing their relegation fears.

Midfielder Fabian Delph was the only previous absentee and he has recovered from a groin injury.

McAllister was at Liverpool when Houllier required major heart surgery in October 2001 and the Villa assistant is confident the team will be able to cope as well as he managed the first time Houllier suffered a scare.

He added: “There was shock within the Liverpool dressing room and we knew there was a major problem with the length of the surgery and what it entailed. It was a big operation.

“But Phil Thompson came in and that midweek we went to Kiev for a Champions League game and it was the first time Kiev had been beaten at home.

“The players rallied and were playing for the manager and I’m sure that is what will happen here. A perfect tonic for the manager will be getting three points against Stoke.”

Veteran Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is determined to finish his career on a high with a win in the Champions League final.The 40-year old Dutchman already has two Champions League wins to his name, with Ajax and United.

But a third winners’ medal would be the best possible way to round-off his 21-year professional career, which will come to an end against Barcelona at Wembley on Saturday.

“If it’s a winning game then it will be the perfect one,” van der Saar

“To be fair I’m not really thinking about that. It’s an accumulation of things over the season. It starts in July with pre-season.”

“You hope to do well in the league, in the Champions League and the FA Cup and certain things fall off during the season … and luckily we won the Premier League and the only thing left is the Champions League now so all the resources and all the energy go into that game.”

United, who sealed their 19th top flight title in England this season, defeated Chelsea and Schalke en route to facing Barcelona.

It sets up a fascinating repeat of the 2009 final, which the Spanish champions won 2-0, and van der Sar said he was enjoying the build-up to the match.

“It’s a massive game and your friends and family are getting excited and everyone wants tickets and you have to sort out hotels and flights,” he said.

“There’s also an ash cloud over England, so alternative means of transportation as well. No, it’s a joy to be involved in these kind of games.”

Victory on Saturday will give either club their fourth European Cup title.

There have been some outstanding players in the Premier League over the years, but what ingredients are needed to make a great Premiership player? The English league is widely regarded as the league which is played at the highest tempo, so if a player doesn’t have the grit and determination required this is the league that will find them out!

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes a great Premiership player, as the attributes for each position vary, as a great defender’s make up will be different from a great striker’s. If I had to single out one player who optimises what it is to be a great Premiership player, I would just say the name Steven Gerrard. He has everything in his locker, I’d go as far as saying he is the complete football player. Most players have a weakness, they may be adept at scoring goals but the defensive side of their game is lacking, or they might have excellent defensive skills in terms of tackling and breaking up of play but little in the way of going forward.  For me Gerrard can do everything. He has vision and an excellent range of passing and he is a set piece specialist. His tackling is ferocious and solid and he has the ability to shoot with pure power or finesse. He also has leadership qualities and passion, desire and determination.

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There aren’t many players who possess all of the attributes required to be a great player in the Premiership and players like Steven Gerrard don’t come along very often. The Premier League has experienced a selection of players who have excelled in other leagues, but when it has come to the Premiership they have been found wanting. Juan Sebastian Veron and Mateja Kezman would fall under this category. They were players who were undoubtedly talented footballers, however they weren’t destined to be great Premiership players as they couldn’t adjust to the pace and high tempo required in Premiership football. In contrast, two players who came from abroad who did have the skill set to make them great Premiership players are Dennis Bergkamp and Gianfranco Zola. Both of these players had the ability to adapt to the pace and power of the Premiership and were still able to exhibit the full extent of their skill and football expertise.

With it being so hard to distinguish what it is that makes a great Premiership player, it ultimately comes down to individual opinions. Is it the all round game that Steven Gerrard encompasses or is the brilliance of a player like Bergkamp, maybe the abundant skill and prolific goal scoring of Thierry Henry. The Premier League is the best league in the world and while there are many great players out there, in my view to be a great Premier League player requires something more than it does to be a great La Liga or Serie A player. You only have to look at the likes of Diego Forlan and Freddie Kanoute who were average Premiership players but have gone on to take La Liga by storm. What’s your view?

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