Category Archives: Manchester City

News and views pertaining to Manchester City.

Should “Blizzard Soccer” Be Part of the Sport?

  By O-Posts Team | May 18, 2013 - 21:58 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

The World Cup playoff game between the United States and Costa Rica on March 22, 2013 was especially memorable. Played in the middle of a storm in Colorado, the game was the closest thing to blizzard soccer fans had seen in awhile.

For 90 minutes, players had to contend with an increasingly torrential downpour of wet, white flakes. Afterwards, the severity of the conditions had millions of soccer enthusiasts wondering: should play in such treacherous conditions really be allowed?

 

Why Continue?

World Cup games are obviously the most important in the sport and can be difficult to reschedule. When a team and its fans have already traveled thousands of miles for the game, canceling is something to avoid at all costs. In addition, postponing the game may mean players won’t get enough rest before their next round.

In this particular game, it didn’t look like the weather would cooperate any time soon. If the game hadn’t been played that night, it wouldn’t have been for quite awhile.

 

Is It Safe?

In spite of tight tournament schedules and pending forecasts, the safety of the players should be the number one consideration when choosing to continue a game. Looking back, was it really safe to continue a game in the middle of a blizzard?

In defending their decision to continue play, refs saidthe players hadn’t been sliding on the snow very much. While this may be true, any soccer player will tell you injuries don’t necessarily happen during slides.

These players were cold, wet, and covered in so much snow that they could run it through an EDI water purification system and use it to hydrate themselves. In these conditions, even the slightest misstep can cause an injury. If nothing else, the players’ immune systems were lowered by the weather.

 

Who Should Make the Call?

If the game has already started, refs make the final call as to whether it will continue. However, is this fair? Shouldn’t the league, coaches and players have more of a say in whether conditions are safe?

 

Written by Michael Deaven

Follow Michael on Twitter @MichaelCDeaven

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

 

Infographic: The Top Paid Football Players Throughout History

  By O-Posts Team | May 18, 2013 - 21:40 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

The argument over how much footballers are paid in the modern era has been going on for years now and shows no sign of stopping. Some of the world’s biggest names are now playing with wage packets that let them take home more in a week than many of us will make in our lifetimes, and all for kicking a ball around – if they even get on the pitch of course!

It hasn’t always been the case that players earned hundreds of thousands each week, however. In actual fact, some players were earning the equivalent of £228 each week back in the 1900s, the same as what many full-time workers in the “real world” earn today.

This infographic, created by equipment retailer The Soccer Store, shows just how times have changed, from the early days of £4 per week right up to the £200,000-a-week contract signed by Carlos Tevez in 2009.

 

 

 

Written and created by Matt Rawlings

Follow Matt on Twitter @MattRawlings46

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Adam’s Premier League Column: Wigan Athletic Confirm Relegation

  By O-Posts Team | May 17, 2013 - 22:40 | , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

It’s been coming; we were just too afraid to admit it. After Wigan’s cup heroics at the weekend, there was a possibility that they could perform the ‘Great Escape’ that they have managed on countless occasions, and in fashionable style, too.

It looked like survival was on the cards after some impressive wins and vital draws, although where I think it was lost was after the FA Cup semi-final victory against Millwall. Since that game, they lost to Manchester City, West Ham and Swansea, whilst picking up a point against Tottenham and a win at West Brom. Against Swansea you felt that they were running on pure emotion, and perhaps it was just a season too far for the Latics.

They’ve left a rather big gap in the Barclays Premier League and it is a shame that they’ve dropped down to the Championship after seven years in the top-flight. I reckon that they have the credentials to come back up within their first season, or definitely the second. I do believe however that it all depends on which players decide to stay and of course whether their manager, Roberto Martinez, stays at the DW Stadium.

Since David Moyes has transferred to Old Trafford to replace the retiring Sir Alex Ferguson, who said an emotional goodbye to the club in which he won thirteen league titles, Martinez has been linked with the Everton job. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was lured to Everton and I’m sure he could do a brilliant job there. Martinez will want to remain a Premier League manager, I’m sure of it.

The result that sent them down – a 4-1 loss to Arsenal – ensured that the Gunners can clinch Champions League football if they win on the last day of the season, and Tottenham need a win to clinch the spot, as long as Arsenal draw or lose. It will make for an exciting spectacle on the last day of the season, and these are what makes the Premier League rich in excitement.

Another change in the Premier League has happened at former Premier League Champions Manchester City. On the same date that Sergio ‘Aguerooooo’ scored that infamous injury time winner to steal the title off United, City sacked Roberto Mancini. The decision had been brewing for some time, and I believe that the FA Cup loss to Wigan may have tipped the decision that was eventually made, although I feel that had he won the cup, it still might not have saved his job.

Speculation has been growing as to whom may replace the Italian, with Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini the leading candidate for the notorious job. Whether the former Real Madrid man can lead City to the success that they all crave is another thing. It’s no easy club to manage.

I’d love to see Mourinho take control of the dugout at Etihad, but that may end up just being a distant dream. Time will tell, but it didn’t seem to have an effect on the side as City stormed to a 2-0 victory at relegated Reading with Brian Kidd in charge after Mancini’s assistant, David Platt, stepped down.

David Moyes, whom I mentioned earlier, waved goodbye to the faithful at Goodison Park with the perfect send-off, beating West Ham United 2-0. It was an encouraging performance too.

Norwich ensured survival at the weekend with a telling 4-0 victory against Steve Clark’s West Brom, who have eased off the pace since survival was confirmed. I’m pleased that Norwich haveensured Premier League football for another campaign as they have an English manager in charge. I’ll support any English boss and wish them success.

Newcastle beat lowly QPR to beat the drop when a short Bosingwa ball tricked its way back to ‘keeper Robert Green, and his punt up field found Gouffran who tapped in to hand the three points to the visitors.

Tottenham kept up with Arsenal after Adebayor netted the winner from close-range. Up the other end of the table, Di Canio’s Sunderland drew at home to Southampton, and the Italian has done what was needed to be done. They’ve looked fresher since the change and at times joyous to watch, especially in the Tyne wear derby.

Daniel Sturridge netted an impressive hat-trick, his first in senior football, to beat Martin Jol’s Fulham 3-1 at Craven Cottage. The pick of the bunch was a sublime lob which found the bottom corner, similar to the goal he scored during the 2012 London Olympics for Team GB.

I’m looking forward to what the final day has in store in terms of the Champions League spot. But we all know that there will be far less drama than what we have experienced on the last day before.

 

Written by Adam May

Follow Adam on Twitter @Amay132

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Manchester City: Mancini sacked, but are City right to go for Pellegrini?

  By O-Posts Team | May 16, 2013 - 22:23 | , , , , ,
1 Comment

Perhaps the most startling aspect of Roberto Mancini’s sacking as Manchester City manager on Monday evening was the speed of it, coming just over 48 hours after the Qatari owners watch their side produce a sluggish display in defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final.

Rumours that the Eastlands hierarchy held a lack of faith in Mancini’s reign had been circulating in the build-up to the final, in tandem with City’s relinquishing of the Premier League title back to neighbours Manchester United, and the bubbling prospect of Mancini’s overhauling had almost over-shadowed City’s presence at Saturday’s showpiece event.

A fine Wigan performance subjected Manchester City to a trophy-less campaign and it proved to be the final scene in Mancini’s eventful three and a half year act in English football. The lack of success proved to have had little affect on the thinking of his employers however, hinting that as Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the City chairman, stood alongside his manager to convey the Wembley pitch in the build-up to Saturday’s kick-off, he was well-drilled in the Italian manager’s fate.

Having woke up on Saturday to intensified speculation that Manuel Pellegrini, the Qatari owner’s reported choice to succeed Mancini, was on his way in, City fans were vocal in their support of the manager at Wembley. Many also lined the streets of Manchester on Tuesday to remind the outgoing manager the high regard he was held amongst City fans who watched him deliver their first league championship in 44 years. A managerial sacking after a season which delivered a second-place league finish and a runners-up spot in the FA Cup seemed not to sit will with a fan-base still familiar with the trips to Grimsby and Stockport that illustrated the era of mundane failure at the turn of the millennium.

The statement which accompanied Mancini’s removal did mention that “he had failed to achieve on of its targets for the year”, hinting at the lack of silverware, but the meat of the parting prose came in identifying his successor as somebody who would “ensure a more holistic approach to all aspects of football at the club”.

A summer in which Mancini was restricted in the transfer market, adding just Scott Sinclair, Jack Rodwell, Javi Garcia and Matija Nastasic to his championship-winning squad whilst their city neighbours got significantly stronger with the acquisitions of Shinji Kagawa and Robin Van Persie, saw the Italian blame the board for his struggles to defend that title. From then on, there was a suspicion the writing was on the wall.

Frayed relationships have appeared not to have eased as the naturally abrasive and polemic Mancini has also publicly criticised his squad on numerous occasions as well as entertaining the circus of lunacy accompanying Mario Balotelli, before he was left with little choice but to jettison the young Italian back to Milan in January. Communication problems with the board seem to have passed beyond the point of repair as City have produced a laborious struggle on the field.

Whilst Mancini wrestled with his volatile nature and an unsettled squad, Sir Alex Ferguson managed to keep a tight reign on his despite the bitter failure of the preceding campaign and was fully-focused on retrieving the title, becoming his 13th of the Premier League era. The importance of maintaining an almost-autocratic reign on a club to ensure long-term success has been emphasised by Ferguson’s recent retirement and it is something City are looking to replicate, starting with the ousting of their quarrelsome coach.

It seems like Pellegrini, the Chilean coach of La Liga club Malaga, does seem to be Manchester City’s preferred choice to takeover as news of his talks with the clubs has emerged in the aftermath of Mancini’s passing. The 59 year old has built a reputation as a superb tactician during his time in Spain with Villarreal, who he guided to a Champions League semi-final in 2006 as well as a second place league finish in the midst of the Real Madrid, Barcelona duopoly in 2008, and now Malaga, whom he led to the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history last season.

The rise of the Andalusian club has been heavily funded by the riches of Sheikh Al Thani, though the financial turbulence caused by the benefactor’s possible withdrawal in the summer that sparked the sale of Santi Cazorla, Joris Mathijsen and Salomon Rondon as well as Nacho Monreal in January,  has failed to significantly hinder Pellegrini who has kept the club in the hunt for another Champions League qualification (though UEFA rulings have barred the club from competing in Europe next year due to financial irregularities) and came within seconds of eliminating finalists Borussia Dortmund from the quarter-final stage of this year’s competition.

The mitigating presence of the rich owner can be excused when it is considered Pellegrini was forced to spend nothing in the summer but has still churned out a year of relative success. Yet critics will point to his trophy-less year at Real Madrid, when he was backed to the tune of £200 million by president Florentino Perez, signing the quadrant of Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso, as a foreboding aspect of Pellegrini’s arrival in Manchester, though one should expect less interference from the Qatari ownership in contrast to Perez, who prohibited Pellegrini from picking Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben and refused to speak to his coach when he did. The relationship with his president was further skewed by the decision to pick Gonzalo Higuain ahead of the £30 million signing Karim Benzema.

Despite the counter-productive political battle with Perez and the board, Pellegrini led Madrid to a 96 point finish, a club record, but finished runner-up to a Barcelona side the Chilean referred to as the “best Barcelona in history”. Bemoaning the reckless Galactico philosophy of Madrid on his way out, Pellegrini was duly sacked after just one year, but it is rather harsh to overlook the context which has caused the coach to be without any silverware outside of his native South America. Mancini has dictated that City should look to somebody who offers far more than just results and Pellegrini ticks that box.

The way in which Pellegrini has kept his side motivated in this season’s La Liga despite the prospect of no European football for next year has shown his ability to keep tight control over his players, whilst the impressive form of Javier Saviola, Julio Baptista and Joaquin, all players previously discarded on the continent, suggests the extent of what he can force out of stretched resources. His record in Europe is also already more attractive than Mancini’s, whose limitations were exposed most drastically on the continent with two-group stage exits during his spell at Eastlands.

With an FA Cup win and a Premier League title to his name from his time in England, there was possibly enough to draw a valid argument for Mancini to be given another year in charge of Manchester City, though the owners have chosen to dispense with the manager who struggled to grasp the aspects of football coaching other than simply getting results.

Pellegrini’s trophy cabinet is bare, but that should be irrespective to his possible succession, a manager’s validity should go deeper than that, something that City’s owners have shown their appreciation of.

 

Written by Adam Gray

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamGray1250

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Roberto Mancini: Why City handed him his marching orders

  By O-Posts Team | May 15, 2013 - 18:48 | , ,
Leave a comment

The sacking of Roberto Mancini has raised many an eyebrow these past 24 hours as to why exactly he was sacked. Are we the new Chelsea or Real Madrid? Do our owners know nothing about football? Of course not.

The reasoning behind the Mancini departure expressed by the club is that they needed to develop a holistic approach. Mancini certainly has not been holistic at City. He often criticised the board members such as Brian Marwood and even City’s PR Vicky Kloss. Regardless of whether they have actually done a bad job or not, in criticising these members of the board, Mancini makes City look weak and therefore makes the image of the club look bad.

If he has a problem with these members of City’s boardroom and PR he should speak with them quietly and individually, rather than publicly shaming them. It’s embarrassing for our club.

Mancini also seemed to have lost the faith of the players, I don’t know when this happened, but performances like the one against Wigan have occurred far too frequently throughout our season. Games like the Aston Villa (Capital One Cup) game, the Borussia Dortmund away game and the dismal away game against Southampton spring to mind.

Clearly, Mancini seemed to be unable to inspire and motivate his players to the extent by which he should of been doing. It is the manager’s job after all, to motivate and bring the best out of his players. For the last few months, even stretching back sometimes into last season, Mancini has failed to do that.  Mancini’s constant failure in Europe – albeit having only a couple of cracks at it – also comes to mind.

We couldn’t get past an average Dynamo Kyiv or Sporting Lisbon side in the UEFA Europa League and we failed, despite our “Group of Deaths”, to get out of the Champions League Group Stages two seasons running.For our board with their aspirations of City being as good as Bayern are now, or Barcelona were just a few seasons ago, this is just simply not good enough. Real Madrid should have been beaten by City twice in the Champions League, they were there for the taking, and we didn’t do that.

Performances matter to our board as much as results do. Claiming a 2nd place in the Premier League whilst being FA Cup Runners Up may have been good enough for Mancini, had the team looked like a World Class side frequently this season. The game against United away and the first 65 minutes against Chelsea aside, I don’t think City have looked anything like World Class this season.

The board has wielded the axe now, in order to make sure next season is a much better season on and off the pitch. Manuel Pellegrini, the man in line to take the job at City, has many of the traits City may be looking for. He has been known to be a man of principle, one who will not criticise the board, and he will take a more “holistic” approach to Manchester City Football Club.

He has stayed at Malaga despite the numerous crises throughout this season. He has dragged a side, who sold most of their best players last summer, to 6th in the Spanish La Liga and very nearly to the Semi-Finals of the UEFA Champions League, barring two offside goals in added time from Borussia Dortmund. He did the same with Villarreal in 2006, lifting them from obscurity to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League.

In his one season managerial stint with Real Madrid, Pellegrini was deprived of his wishes as coach and forced to work with players given to him by Florentino Perez. Whilst Pellegrini wanted to keep Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, Perez sold them off and bought Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka. Pellegrini had seen Robben and Sneijder integral to his plans and even though Pellegrini did get one of the world’s best players in Cristiano Ronaldo, he failed to convince Perez to get the defensive players he wanted.

A famous quote by Pellegrini at the time; “It’s no good having an orchestra with the 10 best guitarists if I don’t have a pianist”, meaning that Perez was obsessed with buying attacking players, rather than the players he actually needed. However, in that season Pellegrini got Real Madrid’s highest ever points total of 96 points. He was second, only to the greatest ever Barcelona side of 2010, who amassed 99 points. Consequently, Pellegrini was sacked, as is Real Madrid’s hostile approach to managers.

Mancini is still loved by most of the City faithful, me included, for what he achieved during his 3 and ½ year stint here. Despite the dismal way Mancini has been treated and sacked in the last week of his tenure, it should be remembered that the board, including ex-Barca chiefs Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano will have thought Mancini’s job through extensively and won’t have made any rash decision.

City were in an impossible position on Monday, in that if they hadn’t sacked him, they would have been slated as “classless” for allowing a dead man walking to carry on his job. (What City should have done is squashed the rumours of Mancini’s departure on Saturday morning by releasing a statement along the lines of “It is entirely false that Man City have sacked Mancini and both Roberto and the club are committed to winning our third major trophy in as many years”. If that had been said, I believe we would have won the Cup Final).

However, as they did sack him, they were branded as “classless” for the way Mancini was sacked, it was a no-win situation. Nevertheless, at City, Pellegrini will be given time to develop and integrate his ideas into the City side. Pellegrini has repeatedly said that the idea of playing entertaining football is non-negotiable and so expect a much more exciting, early 2011-12 season like, City next season.

Don’t worry if Pellegrini hasn’t won any major trophies in Europe, he hasn’t had the proper platform to be able to. At City, he will get just that.

 

Written by Henry Francis

Follow Henry on Twitter @TheHenryFrancis

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Adam’s Premier League Column: Villa Spark Revival

  By O-Posts Team | May 7, 2013 - 20:43 | , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Due to various commitments through school and other means, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to write a column for O-Posts. I’d like to personally congratulate Manchester United on their 13th league title under Sir Alex Ferguson, and it’s a testament to him how well United have bounced back from that stoppage time winner from Sergio Aguero last May. That seems a distant and feint memory now.

 

Norwich 1 Aston Villa 2

Villa reached the magic points tally of 40, although Paul Lambert, Villa’s manager, isn’t sure whether they are safe just yet. What they do know however is that their future is now in their hands after two wins on the bounce, the first a 6-1 drubbing of Sunderland, and the crucial away win at Carrow Road.

Lambert has stuck by his young-guns throughout the campaign, and is being rewarded with some great individual performances of late. I reckon if Villa beat the drop, and it’s looking increasingly likely that they will, and are able to keep the majority of the squad then they could be an impressive team next season. The likes of Lowton, Weimann, Benteke and Agbonlahor have really stood out and improved. And it was the latter who grabbed all three points.

Villa’s first goal came in the second-half when Ashley Westwood set-up Gabriel Agbonlahor who lashed in a superb goal of great quality.

On 72 minutes, youngster Joe Bennett fouled Robert Snodgrass to give referee Kevin Friend no option but to award a penalty, which was only Norwich’s second of the campaign. Grant Holt stepped up and converted, sending Brad Guzan the wrong way.
Villa were only momentarily disheartened, and Villa stole the three points with two minutes of normal time remaining.

Ashley Westwood picked up the ball again and slotted a pin-point pass into the path of the on-running Agbonlahor, who let the ball run across his body before firing a low-shot into the far corner, his ninth league goal of the campaign.

It was a crucial three points for Villa, and Norwich will now be worried as they have two tough games remaining, at home to West Brom then away to Manchester City, to get results from in order to beat the drop.

 

West Brom 2 Wigan 3

This result was a real surprise for me. But then, the more I think about it, is it a surprise? Is it a surprise given the way that the Latics always seem to dig deep and get results when it matters at this time of year? They won this match without playing their best football. In truth, they were rather poor. Their passing play was off colour and scrappy at times. Only Maloney really drove them forward. But it was their shear willpower and wanting to push on and score that got them the result.

The home side, who don’t have anything to play for other than pride, took the lead through Shane Long. However, ten minutes later, Kone struck gold for Wigan with six minutes to play until half-time. They had to come from behind yet again as McAuley put the Baggies 2-1 up. James McArther got on the end of Shaun Maloney’s drilled cross and headed in past goalkeeper Foster to level.

Youngster Callum McManaman then converted from close-range to give Wigan the three points, which took their points total to 35 at the time of writing. This will give them great confidence going into the FA Cup final with 2011 winners Manchester City, especially if they can beat Swansea who have been somewhat off colour of late.

As for West Brom, they will be scratching their heads as to how they didn’t get the three points, and they’ll be looking to bounce back against Manchester City.

 

Tottenham 1 Southampton 0

Gareth Bale haunted his former club at White Hart lane with a strike that we’ve all come to expect from the winger-cum-striker. For those that haven’t seen the strike, he picked the ball up on the right-wing and drifted inside past the helpless Luke Shaw, before unleashing a telling shot that had no back-lift whatsoever, and the ball found the bottom corner with four minutes left to play.

I hope for the sake of English football that Bale stays at Tottenham for a least another season. It would be a real shame to see him move abroad to either Barcelona or Real Madrid, as some reports suggest. I’ve heard that Sir Alex Ferguson is interested in acquiring his services at Old Trafford next season, but I cannot see how the Champions will be able to meet Spurs’ justification of £60million for the Welshman.

Champions League football will be a big decider in where Bale ends up, and this victory may edge him closer to putting pen to paper with the London club. It seems like he’s revelling in playing under AVB who, it seems, has got the best out of Bale this season.

Whilst he may not have had the best of games against the Saints, when you score a winner like he did (and 19 other league goals at the time of writing this season) you can sort of allow for it! Sort of…

 

REMINDER: This was written prior to all midweek fixtures. An overview of the mid-week games will be in the next column.

 

My Team of the Week

 

Written by Adam May

Follow Adam on Twitter @Amay132

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Gareth Bale: Can Spurs really hold onto their award-winning winger?

  By O-Posts Team | May 3, 2013 - 22:31 | , , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

After seeing his star-player achieve the individual clean sweep by picking up the PFA Player of the Year, Young Player of the year and the FWA Player of the Year, Andre-Villas Boas remained predictably calm and assured when it came to the inevitable question of Gareth Bale’s future. “I’d be extremely surprised if Bale left, because this is the assurance I have” said the Portuguese coach, “the information I have from the club is he is here to remain”.

It was an answer typical of the manager whose dealings with the media usually verge on the languid and serene. Keen not to transfer attention from the conclusion to Spurs’ season which remains immersed in the battle for Champions League qualification, Villas-Boas carefully trod around the subject, giving the most diplomatic of answers. The chairman has sorted it. Bale will remain at Spurs. There is nothing to see here apart from Bale accepting his award.

It was curious enough however to hear Villas-Boas apply the responsibility for keeping Bale to Daniel Levy, suggesting that he is under no illusion that if the club received a mammoth financial offer for the winger in the summer, the decision-making will be down to those in charge of the accounts, not the team. “It’s not up to me to judge the finances of the club- I’m the head coach, it’s the chairman’s decision.”

Such recognition and acclaim in the form of Bale’s individual awards this week will only intensify the anticipation that a sizeable bid for the winger will arrive in the summer. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have been repeatedly linked with the 23 year old and in the week where both club’s need for squad renovation was made so glaringly obvious in the Champions League, Bale is likely to have become a genuine target.

There could be no argument as to the validity of Bale’s awards given he has contributed 24 goals to Tottenham’s overall season and provided another 8. In the Premier League, he has been the driving force behind the club’s quest for Champions League football, his 19 strikes directly contributing to 24 of Spurs’ 62 point tally.

His versatility has been seamless, performing the attacking midfield role as well as that of a central-striker with the same unrelenting power and athleticism that has seen many full-backs dismissed from his usual left-wing home. He has burst past defenders with skill and dynamism, applying a devastating finish to his near-imperious armoury.

He can be the one man wave of momentum that tore through Aston Villa, Norwich and Newcastle, the precision passer that turned the game with Manchester City, or the thunderous goalscorer of unerring accuracy and power that did for West Ham and Swansea. It is the wide range of attributes that drew comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo during his February form.

Perhaps it was obscene and sensationalist to elevate Bale to the esteemed company of the unstoppable Madrid winger, but there is nothing strange about suggesting Bale hints at the same muscular physique and majestic ability as the Portuguese four years his senior.

There is no doubting he has entered into the same mould of player who possesses wonderful physical vigour to compliment the dexterity of his feet. “World Class” can be an over-used adjective in the modern game but it is hard to argue with the perception that Bale has the potential to join that bracket.

It is the immediate future that will go some way to dictating how far that potential will take Bale, with the prospect of again having to miss out on participation in Europe’s premier competition becoming increasingly possible as Spurs cling on to fourth spot.

Villas-Boas was unequivocal when it came to “the player remaining independent of the objective of achieving Champions League qualification or not”, but there has to be a suspicion that missing out once again on a place with Europe’s elite would weaken the bargaining power of Levy and co.

It was Zinedine Zidane who recently vocalised his opinion that Bale is the best player in the world and predicted that many top level clubs would be waiting patiently with astronomical bids designed to lure Bale away from his north London home. As the individual awards gleamed, it was a certification that Bale’s has been a campaign of the very highest standard, 53% of the Football Writer’s vote being a ringing endorsement of such notion.

Expect Spurs’ resolve to be under the toughest examination in the summer, but expect the final decision to be made in the board-room.

 

Written by Adam Gray

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamGray1250

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Marquinhos: Defensive prodigy – a rare breed in Calcio

  By O-Posts Team | April 28, 2013 - 18:20 | , , , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Every year, upon the start of the European football calendar after each Summer, names are touted around of suggestions and hot tips for the new campaign’s “breakout stars”. 8 months ago, few people would’ve paid any attention to the name – Marcos Aoás Corrêa – on Italian outfit AS Roma’s “Transfer Ins” list.

Signed on a loan deal with a permanent option, the young Brazilian with his moniker – Marquinhos – is now an in-demand starlet and highly tipped to be a future Seleção star.

 

Background:

Marquinhos joined Cornthians in 2002, at the age of 8, and proceeded to move up the youth ranks of the Timão over the next 10 years. Marquinhos impressed so much during his time in Corinthians’ youth ranks that he was called-up by and made captain of Brazil’s U17s in the 2011 South American Under-17 championship. With Brazil winning the South American U17 title, they qualified for the U17 FIFA World Cup that year, with Marquinhos again being handed the captaincy.

In Mexico, Brazil finished 4th, with Marquinhos playing 6 of their 7 matches and earning only 1 yellow card. After a stellar 2011, Marquinhos continued to shine in 2012. In the 2012 edition of the prestigious Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (São Paulo Youth Football Cup), the young Brazilian added more impressive displays to his CV, culminating in a 2-1 win over Fluminense in the Final. Marquinhos was clearly banging on Corinthians’ 1st-team door.

With his maturity and leadership qualities, and not forgetting his on-pitch quality, it was of no surprise that Marquinhos eventually broke into Corinthians’ 1st-team.

 

Breakthrough at Corinthians:

With his impressive performances at youth level, Marquinhos’ form in the aforementioned prestigious Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior proved to be the final piece in the jigsaw of proving to Corinthians 1st-team Head Coach Tite that he was ready for a shot in the 1st-team. A 1st-team debutant at the age of 18, Marquinhos went on to make 6 1st-team appearances in the 2012 Brasileirão, playing the full 90 minutes on 5 occasions, and providing 1 assist.

While impressive when given the chance, the youngster also showed some versatility – playing in central defence in 2 full matches and as a defensive midfielder in 3 full matches. Coach Tite was so impressed with Marquinhos that the young Brazilian, then aged 17, was on the 1st-team bench for each and every one of the knockout stage matches of Corinthians’ victorious 2012 Copa Libertadores triumph.

Just look at that, within the span of 6 months, Marquinhos had become a Copa Libertadores champion and also turned 18 along the way.

 

Into the big time – AS Roma:

After catching the eye of Roma’s South American scouts, they took the gamble of signing the then 18-year-old in the summer of 2012, despite him having just 6 months of 1st-team experience in Brazil. The deal was a loan (€1.5m fee) with a €3m permanent option – with the trigger being Marquinhos making 8 1st-team appearances of 45 minutes a piece.

Barely a few weeks after his signing was formalised, Marquinhos made his 1st-team debut on 16 September 2012, playing the last 16 minutes of a 3-2 loss to Bologna. A fortnight later, the young centreback came off the bench to play an hour of a catastrophic 4-1 thrashing at the hands of defending Italian champions Juventus.

Slowly but surely cementing his spot in the Giallorossi Starting XI, Marquinhos has gone on to make 23 Serie A appearances(all but 3 as a starter) and 3 in the Coppa Italia. The only thing that broke his string of 12 consecutive 1st-team appearances is a suspension from being sent off, following a late handball, in a 3-1 win over Milan just before the winter break.

Roma’s summer signing became such as crucial 1st-teamer that the club withdrew him from international duty at the South American Under-20 championship, held in January 2013.

 

Overview – Majestic debut season in Calcio:

An 18-year-old holding a starting spot Serie A is most rare, let alone at a team as big as La Maggica. Marquinhos is a rare breed, such is the unforgiving nature of Calcio, what with the intense scrutiny of TV pundits on the various well-followed match review shows.

Leandro Castan, Marquinhos’ former Corinthians team-mate, has been left to fight for the other starting spot in central defence with Nicolas Burdisso. Ironically, 2012 summer signing Leandro Castan had insisted upon Roma signing Marquinhos.

In light of Roma’s much-talked-about defensive problems – a negative of Zdenek Zeman’s gung-ho offensive tactics – this season, Marquinhos has more-or-less escaped criticism, a result of the 18-year-old consistently delivering impressive performances every week. Despite still being only 18, Marquinhos has been Roma’s most important defender since cementing his starting spot in the middle of the Giallorossi defence.

(All stats are from WhoScored.com)

At first glance, standing at 1.83 metres, the lean Marquinhos is not the most intimidating of central defenders. That said, he does win his share of aerial duels, at 2.3 per game. That figure is the best at Roma and, league-wise, is better than that of bigger names like Philippe Mexes.

Being still only 18, the Brazilian still has room for more physical growth, which can only be a good thing. However, his natural athleticism does more-or-less cover for that, as they enhance his key attributes – his maturity and game-reading ability. Marquinhos evidently has, as the saying goes, “an old head on young shoulders”.

He is currently 18th in the Serie A interceptions chart, on par with veteran Andrea Barzagli, and better than the highly-rated Facundo Roncaglia and Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro. With only 19 fouls (0.8 per game) at the time of writing, Marquinhos is currently 352nd on the “Most Fouls” chart. As with all modern day central defenders, Marquinhos is good on the ball and playing it out of defence, with an impressive 88.8% passing accuracy.

Almost every Serie A centreback would like to have Marquinhos’ statistics, which makes the fact he’s still a teenager all the more staggering.

“No Serie A player has made more last man tackles this season than the teenager (10), who leads his side for both interceptions (2.9) and aerial duels won (2.2) per game, proving that his reading of the game is at the level of a far more seasoned pro.” – Martin Laurence of WhoScored.

 

A look to the future:

Marquinhos has thus far shone, not just adapted, whenever he’s been pushed to the next level – youth team to 1st-team, Corinthians to Roma. This bodes well for the young Brazilian’s career prospects, as football has seen all too many a promising youngster fail to make that “next step”, rendering him unable to realise his full potential.

I’m confident that Marquinhos will not fall under the “what could’ve been” category. With his leadership qualities, maturity and talent, and not forgetting his current high performance level in such a prestigious league, long story short – the sky’s the limit for Marquinhos.

Roma are currently looking to upgrade the youngster’s current €0.8m (per year) wage to fend off interest from elsewhere. With his impressive and mature displays in his debut season in Italy, some of the Football’s biggest clubs are looking to sign him. Among others, FC Barcelona and Manchester City have been linked as potential new employers.

However, the Roma stopper is unlikely to leave the Stadio Olimpico anytime soon. There is still much room for improvement and staying at Roma for at least the next few years will provide the stable environment that promising youngsters like Marquinhos need to develop and, eventually, realise their potential.

Considering the ambitions of this AS Roma “project”, Marquinhos could possibly play out his peak years in the capital club.

Marquinhos told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I am not thinking about a transfer. I owe Roma a lot for the chance they gave me.”

Whether Marquinhos eventually leaves Roma or stays for the long haul, one thing’s are for sure – Marquinhos will become a Seleção star sooner rather than later. Furthermore, with his past as Brazil U17 captain, Marquinhos could eventually captain Brazil at senior level.
Over the course of this 2012/13 season, Marquinhos has proved his worth enough to be justly rated as the best young central defender in the world at the moment, alongside Real Madrid’s Raphaël Varane.

Of all the possible “breakout stars” that had been tipped to emerge in the 2012/13 Serie A season, few would’ve bet on an 18-year-old Brazilian centreback being on that list.

Marcos Aoás Corrêa is indeed a rare breed in Calcio.

 

Written by Mark Ooi

Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkOoiZW

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Fan Memories: Football isn’t what it used To Be

  By O-Posts Team | April 27, 2013 - 20:31 | , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Football has changed in many ways over the last three decades and not wholly for the better. The big clubs have got stronger, the small clubs weaker and the players are now paid a ludicrous amount of money. Loyalty seems to have gone out of the window and cheating is rife.

Having said that the experience of actually attending a game has improved no end, in fact it is a different world altogether and for that I am grateful.

 

Second Class Citizens

There was a time when football supporters were treated so badly that it is a wonder anyone bothered turning up. I had so many bad experiences involving violence from other fans, poor facilities and being transported like cattle that looking back I can’t believe that it all happened.

I was also unfortunate enough to be present at both the Hillsborough and Heysel Stadium disasters where so many people lost their lives. Both of these terrible tragedies were the result of negligence on the part of the authorities and the police, negligence which certainly had its roots in the prevailing attitude that football fans were worthless.

On one occasion prior to these events I was given a rude reminder of just how poor the attitudes of many police officers actually were.

 

Away Match

I was attending Liverpool’s away match at Stoke City and had failed to obtain a ticket for the special supporters’ train and so had to purchase a full price fare on a normal scheduled service. I didn’t realise it at the time but this train ticket was going to cost me a lot more than it appeared.

The journey to Stoke and the match were uneventful and I left the stadium to walk back to the station expecting a similarly hassle free journey home. As I approached the station a police officer shouted at me to join the queue for the supporters’ train and I explained that I did not have a ticket for that service and need to proceed to the station to take the scheduled service back to Liverpool.

At this point the officer grabbed hold of me and threw me against a wall shouting that I had to join the queue. Unfortunately he threw me head first and I smashed my head on the wall. As I got to my feet there was blood pouring out of my head and I got my bearings just in time to see my friend attack the officer in a rage and get himself arrested! He shouted for me to go home and he would see me later.

I at least had the presence of mind to memorise the officer’s number. I then sat down by some garage doors to recover with blood trickling down my neck.

 

Aftermath

Some fellow fans helped me out and I eventually got home, albeit with a head wound and blood all over my clothes. My friend was released the same day and was not charged with anything. He too had memorised the police officer’s number and his recollection matched mine.

We made a complaint regarding the officer’s conduct only to be told that we were in error as the officer whose number we reported was not working at the match that day. The police had obviously closed ranks and there was nothing we could do about it.

 

Shocking

Looking back it seems crazy that there was a time when football fans were treated so badly and that a police officer could get away with such an assault so easily. I am sure that things like this still happen but it is much rarer now. In those days it was commonplace.

I guess that I should also add that what happened to me on that day in Stoke on Trent was more shocking than it appears as I am a woman and at the time of the assault I was a teenage girl.

 

Byline

Sally Stacey is a keen blogger and football enthusiast who has spent over 30 years visiting football ground across Europe. She is currently writing on behalf of The Plastic Depot.

 

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

The Upcoming Football Video Game That Plunges you Into the Seedy World of Match Fixing

  By O-Posts Team | April 26, 2013 - 19:33 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

Video games and football have gone hand in hand for decades, with games like FIFA 13, Pro Evolution Soccer and Football Manager hitting the bestseller lists year on year, giving players the chance to play at managing or playing as their favourite teams.

A new game that is currently under development aims to turn the football management game on its head, taking players deep into the sinister underworld of football corruption and allowing them to play as a shady match fixer.

Game Changer – The Football Match Fixing Game is being made for iOS and Android mobile and tablet devices, and will be made available in early 2014 if the developers successfully gain funding with their upcoming campaign on popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

In Game Changer, you can bribe players, pay off police and officials, blackmail referees and do all kinds of other interesting and immoral things to try and ensure the results you want, and then make a fortune by betting on your fixed outcomes.

As you grow in influence in the criminal underworld, you can fix games in bigger and more prestigious leagues around the world to gain higher profits, as well as being able to team up with crime boss characters and even your real life friends (thanks to social media integration) to get better results.

The game promises to blend elements of conventional football games and sims with the kind of stories and gameplay you normally see in crime games and RPGs, as well as featuring a sophisticated gambling system that allows you to implement all kinds of interesting strategies to make your fortune.

The developers, Game Changer Games, are also keen to make sure the game contains plenty of dark humour, because match fixing is, after all, a pretty horrible thing.

If you are interested in finding out more about the plans for Game Changer and the Kickstarter campaign that will hopefully make the game possible, you can check out the official website at www.gamechangergame.com or follow the developers’ official Twitter account @gamechangergame.

 

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts