Daily Archives: November 2, 2012

Match Preview – Manchester United vs Arsenal

  By O-Posts Team | November 2, 2012 - 22:27 | , , ,
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Two fierce rivals go head-to-head as the Londoners opt to re-find their form after a somehow mediocre performance against QPR last Saturday. While the home side look to continue their good run in the Premier League and increase the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the table.

If Arsenal win on Saturday they will now be on 18 points, which can mean jumping to 4th place assuming Everton and Spurs struggle. Of course, this is not an easy task as the Gunners do find difficulty at the Theatre of Dreams. Manchester United, however want to put the pressure on Chelsea and not slip to 3rd place, which means a draw is not acceptable for both sides.

 

Returning players

Chris Smalling- The young defender is set to make a return against Arsenal after he suffered from a metatarsal injury which made him miss the pre-season tour.

Of course, the return of Smalling will boost the Reds’ shaky defensive line, but the 22 year old has had no preparation whatsoever as he was injured prior to the pre-season tour. The young defender showed what he is capable of but maybe it would be too early to field him in such an important game.

Abou Diaby- It is expected that the French midfielder will make his return against Manchester United. This is a very big boost for Wenger as both Wilshere and Sagna made their long-awaited return on QPR last Saturday.

With the likes of Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla and Diaby, the midfield is somehow complete. Abou Diaby has shown that when he is ready, the Frenchman is unstoppable.

 

Manchester United Strengths

Whether we like it or not, Manchester United’s attacking force is one of, if not the best in the Premier League. With the likes of Rooney, Van Persie, Welbeck and Chicharito the Red Devils are surely not short of goals.

With Rooney playing in a much more creative role like back in the days when he partnered Ruud Van Nistelrooy up front. It is pretty much the same situation. Rooney plays the more creative role of the two and Van Persie bags in the goals.

But of course don’t forget Chicharito and Welbeck. The Mexican is a typical goal poacher, he can score goals. Give him a chance and he will score. The latter however, is not as lethal in front of goal but he is gifted and has showed us his capability of playing out wide or playing in a deeper role.

 

Manchester United Weaknesses

The Red Devils’ attacking force may be the best in the league but their defensive line is shocking. United have conceded 13 goals this season in the Premier League, which averages to 1.4 goals a game.

Vidic is out and expected to return on the 24th of November against QPR. Rafael is really good attacking wise but is almost always caught out of position defensively. Due to age, Ferdinand has lost pace and therefore can face problems in stopping the Gunners’ fast players.

 

Arsenal Strengths

Midfield, midfield, midfield. Although Arsenal may have problems with the defensive part of midfield but their attacking side is the best in the league.

They are not short of creativity, Cazorla, Diaby, Arteta and Wilshere are a quartet of doom and a nightmare for any defence so that is why they might torment the United defensive line.

 

Arsenal Weaknesses

Maybe Arsenal might have the best attacking midfield in the league but they are short of goals. Olivier Giroud is slowly finding his form and Podolski is not a striker by nature. Which means that Arsenal actually depend on their midfielders to bag in the goals.

The Gunners have only scored 14 goals this season compared to United’s 24 goals. If Giroud gets injured or is out of form on that day, Arsenal WILL find difficulty scoring.

 

FORM

MAN UNITED: WLWWW

ARSENAL: DLWLW

 

Predicted Lineups:

MUFC (4-4-2)- De Gea- Rafael- Ferdinand-Evans- Evra- Carrick-Cleverley- Valencia- Young-Rooney- Van Persie

Arsenal (4-3-3)- Mannone- Sagna- Koscielny- Vermaelen- Andre Santos- Cazorla- Arteta- Wilshere- Podolski-Walcott- Giroud

 

My Prediction- Manchester United 2-2 Arsenal

United and Arsenal games are always high scoring, the Arsenal midfield could test De Gea with a few shots while United’s attacking force could prove too strong for Arsenal’s defence.

 

Written by Ahmed Assem

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Liverpool FC: Flops, Youngsters and Striker Crisis

  By O-Posts Team | November 2, 2012 - 20:33 | , ,
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Since taking over from Kenny Dalglish, Brendan Rodgers has had a mixed start to his Liverpool career. League results have been disappointing so far, and the home loss to Swansea in the Capital One Cup proved the bad transfer business the club made in recent transfer windows.

Joe Cole, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson joined the club for a combined fee of almost £40m. All 3 were given a chance to impress the manager and get back into the 1st team, but all 3 failed to do so as Liverpool were knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Swansea. The worst of them was Joe Cole, a man who was brought in by Christian Purslow and is on around £90k per week. Cole has looked lost on the pitch, and at times it seemed like Liverpool were playing with 10 men.

Stewart Downing is another expensive Liverpool flop. He was signed by Kenny Dalglish for £20m more than a year ago, and since then has proved to be one of Liverpool’s biggest failures in recent history. Since Rodgers arrived his chances have been limited mostly to Europa League games. Rodgers has tried to play him in different positions to find him a place in the team, but Downing constantly failed to impress. Recent reports suggest Liverpool will be looking to offload him in the January transfer window.

Downing….. one of Liverpool’s biggest flops.

The failure of senior players to perform has led Rodgers to giving more chances to youngsters. Sterling, Suso, Wisdom and Shelvey are now key players for Liverpool´s first team. Jonjo Shelvey recently played his 50th game for the club, and seems to have everything needed to be a key player for Liverpool in the future. Raheem Sterling has impressed with his pace and skills, making himself a key player in attack and a fan´s favourite.

Young Spanish talent Suso is another youngster that impressed so far this season. His intelligence and technique are extraordinary for a player of his age, and his passing range and vision are a joy to watch. With more youngsters knocking on the 1st team door, the future is certainly bright for Liverpool FC.

Although youngsters have so far impressed and have played key roles in Liverpool’s attack, the team is still struggling to score goals. Liverpool currently have only one fit senior striker, Luis Suarez. Fabio Borini is injured and will be out until New Year at least, and even when he’s fit Liverpool still lack a proven goalscorer.

Liverpool’s failure to sign a proven finisher in the summer has come back to haunt the club, and Rodgers knows that bringing in a striker is a must in January. Although FSG have a strict transfer policy and are looking to sign young players with sell-on value, an experienced finisher should be preferred over a young striker in January.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will most likely be available as he’s in his last year of contract, and considering his age, price and experience he would be an ideal signing for Liverpool. He could share his experience and help develop youngsters like Yesil and Morgan, and his age would mean youngsters will get their chances in the future. Other strikers linked with Liverpool are Theo Walcott, Demba Ba and Fernando Llorente.

Hunterlaar…. a suitable acquisition.

Brendan Rodgers has so far done a solid job in changing the style of play and adapting his “tiki-taka” style of football. People need to understand that such changes don’t happen over night, Rodgers needs a lot of time and money to get the club back to where it belongs.

It will be a long and tough ride, but one Liverpool need to take to get back to the top of European football.

 

Written by Ivan Stanic

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Radamel Falcao: The Best Striker In The World

  By O-Posts Team | November 2, 2012 - 16:22 | , ,
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There is little to no doubt that at this current moment in time Radamel Falcao is the best striker in world football. The Colombian forward, currently plying his trade at Atletico Madrid is dominating the headlines both in Spain and across Europe with continued tales of his exploits.

His career began at River Plate in Argentina where he progressed through the ranks. The 2007/8 season was when he really began to make his mark by scoring 19 goals in 39 games. The following year he followed it up with more goals and at the end of that season moved to Porto for €3.9 million.

It was in Portugal that Falcao really began to earn plaudits worldwide for his goal scoring excellence. During his two seasons for Porto he scored 72 goals in 85 games in all competitions and helped the club to win the UEFA Europa League in 2011. It was clear that the Colombian was destined to play in one of the bigger European leagues and that summer he signed for Atletico.

Over the last five years there has been a dramatic shift away from what was regarded as the traditional striker. Ever since Lionel Messi was deployed in a ‘false nine’ position many clubs have attempted to copy this tactic and ensure that their striker is more of a team player than purely a finisher. However, El Tigre is the archetypal old fashioned striker; phenomenal in the air, strong physically and a lethal finisher. When you combine these attributes and place them in someone young and hungry the result is what everyone has witnessed in the last three or more years.

Before this season commenced it was thought that Atletico would be fighting for one of the Champions League places but they are currently joint top of the Primera Division with Barcelona. One, if not the primary reason for this is Falcao’s goals; he has scored 10 goals in eight games in the league. Allied with some wonderful creative talent the club is certainly seeing their expensive outlay being repaid in full. It is unlikely that Athletico will maintain this league position until the end of the season but if this remarkable goal scoring run continues it is not implausible.

Part of the reason for this remarkable success is the impact that the head coach Diego Simeone has had on his striker. This season he has specifically asked Falcao not to do too much chasing back and pressing; he just wants him to remain in his position and finish off the chances. Although this tactic sounds relatively simple it is quite unique at the moment with everyone focusing on defending starting from the forward.

Inevitably with all this personal success the transfer rumour mill is in over drive at the moment with links to Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid amongst others. The fee would be astronomical considering he only signed for his current club two years ago but of all the striking options available at the moment it appears to be the closest to a sure thing you can get.

Whatever happens in the coming months and wherever the Colombian ends up playing he is a must watch for anyone who is yet to witness this thrilling player in action. His goal scoring record is getting better the older he gets and at 26 he is approaching the peak of his powers.

It will be a fascinating few years ahead.

 

Written by Andy Hunter

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