Fellaini and Higuain: Worthy targets for the Gunners?

  By O-Posts Team | June 16, 2013 - 19:05 | , , , , , ,
5 Comments

With the 3 main title-contenders all changing their manager, many would see this summer as an opportunity that Arsenal must not miss to flex their financial muscle and spend big. With Arsene Wenger a very shrewd negotiator in the transfer market, many are unsure whether he will change this habit.

Although, all Arsenal fans feel now is the right time to properly strengthen the squad to challenge for silverware next season and beyond.

Fans have been clamouring for additions in all over the team but arguably the two positions that are most in need of reinforcements are striker and defensive/central midfielder. With Olivier Giroud the only true no.9 in the squad, another quality striker is needed to add a natural goalscorer and take some pressure off the Frenchman.

Also, with the uncertainty surrounding Jack Wilshere’s long-term position and Abou Diaby’s constant misfortune with injuries, only Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey and possibly Oxlade-Chamberlain are options. If we are serious about challenging, another reliable midfielder is needed to add strength to compliment the technical ability of our other central midfielders.

Two players that have been heavily linked to Arsenal in these positions are Marouane Fellaini and Gonzalo Higuain. Here’s a quick look at them as players and how I think they would fare at Arsenal.

 

Marouane Fellaini:

The Everton midfielder has had probably his best ever season in a blue shirt. Largely playing off a main striker he has scored 11 goals – his best return for Everton and their top scorer last season.

Despite this, he still believes his best position is as a combative central midfielder and when Everton visited the Emirates he was fantastic in there and helped Everton hugely in claiming a credible draw.

Although, while Fellaini is a very good player, I have my doubts about his passing ability and discipline, and with a fee of 20m upwards being mooted, I’m skeptical about whether or not it would be a wise buy.

 

Gonzalo Higuain:

The Real Madrid striker is simply one of the best goalscorers in the world. His brilliant scoring rate and his potency in front of goal cannot be ignored when we are in need of a 20+ goalscorer. Juventus are thought to be in pole position for his signature but with a new coach yet to be appointed at Real, there is uncertainty around Higuain’s future and it seems this transfer could rumble on for quite a while.

Whatever transfers are made during this hugely important summer, I do believe Arsene Wenger finally knows now is the time to spend the hoards of money in reserve to mount a challenge for trophies.

 

Written by Charlie Smith

Follow Charlie on Twitter @cjs_afc

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Serie A: 2012/13 Team of the Season

  By O-Posts Team | June 15, 2013 - 00:51 | , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

Blighted by controversy, coloured by innovative formations and blessed with emerging talent, it couldn’t be anything else but a season in Serie A. We count down the campaign’s best XI with the help of, what else but a back 3?

 

Goalkeeper- Federico Marchetti (Lazio)

Marchetti saw himself on the fringes of the Cagliari squad upon his return from the 2010 World Cup with Italy, though his move to Rome has seen him return to the Azzurri such has been his form. 13 clean sheets in the league, as well as some solid performances as the Biancocelesti won the Coppa Italia.

Lazio also took points off the all conquering Juventus in Turin thanks to a fine performance from Marchetti, a superb flying save from Arturo Vidal being the highlight.

 
Centre-back- Hugo Campagnaro (Napoli)

The 32 year old Argentine has let his contract run out after four years in Naples and could be set to follow coach Walter Mazzarri to Inter Milan, though few Napoli fans can begrudge him his move after a superb season. Campagnaro made 29 appearances as the Partenopei finished runners-up in Serie A with just 36 goals conceded.

The no-nonsense defender made over 300 clearances at the back, as well as winning 61 of his 87 tackles.

 
Centre-back- Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

The 6 ft 1 inch defender is an imposing force at the back for the old lady, possessing overwhelming strength to shrug attackers off the ball and the height to win the majority of his headers, shown by a 68% success rate in the air.

As well as being formidable in defence, he also showed an elegant side of his game as he offered a good attacking outlet down Juve’s left and a 90% pass success rate indicates his prowess in helping Conte’s men build from the back.

 
Centre-back- Andrea Barzagli (Juventus)

If Chiellini’s great form wasn’t enough, he was partnered by Barzagli, the experienced 32 year old who made 34 appearances as Juventus steamed to the Serie A title with just 24 goals conceded.

Barzagli compensated for declining pace with supreme positional sense as Juve’s back-line remained firm throughout the campaign.

 
Left Winger- Alessio Cerci (Torino)

After signing for Torino from Fiorentina for a cut-price deal last August, the 25 year old left-midfielder looked to be on the scrap-heap, though Cerci’s season has been one of rejuvenation as he terrorised numerous defences to help Torino escape relegation.

He scored 8 goals and created a total of 60 chances in his 35 appearances, earning him a call-up to the Italian national team.

 
Right winger- Arturo Vidal (Juventus)

Vidal’s 50 successful tackles shows how effective he was in protecting Andrea Pirlo but the Chilean midfielder was far more than that as he joined Juve’s attacks with energy and dynamism, scoring 10 goals (as he finished joint-top scorer) and creating 35 chances from the right side.

A fine mover of the ball, Vidal completed 84% of his attempted passes, as his versatility was vital to Andrea Conte’s ability to shift his side’s system.

 
Centre-midfield- Borja Valero (Fiorentina)

Similar to Cerci, Valero’s first season at his new club has been a revelation. The Spaniard showed assured technique in the heart of La Viola’s midfield, assisting 11 goals, creating a mammoth 74 chances and dictating play with around 1,800 passes in total.

His quality was essential to Vincenzo Montella’s free-flowing side, making 37 appearances as Fiorentina qualified for the Champions League.

 
Centre-midfield- Marek Hamsik (Napoli)

The Slovakian playmaker is blessed with superb vision and his ability to drop deep to pick the ball up from the midfield and spray passes around in attack was vital to Napoli’s return to the Champions League.

He scored 11 goals as well as assisting 14 from his slightly altered position on the left side of attack, as well as creating 100 chances for his teammates.

 
Attacking midfielder- Francesco Totti (AS Roma)

It is impossible to leave the evergreen Italian attacking-midfielder out as he shows no sign of slowing down with age. His 12 goals moved him up to second on the all-time Serie A goal-scoring list with 227, while his 12 assists helped Roma salvage a disruptive season to finish a respectable sixth in the league, as well as runners up in the Coppa Italia.

Despite reaching the ripe old age of 36, Totti still managed 33 starts for the Giallorossi and remains integral to their fortunes.

 
Attacking midfielder- Stephan El Shaarawy (AC Milan)

The Egyptian-born youngster celebrated breaking into the Italian squad at the start of the season with a brilliant campaign where he hit 16 goals and assisted 4 to help the Rossoneri into third place.

From his position on the left side of Max Allegri’s 3-pronged attack, the 20 year old demonstrated electric pace, confidence to take men on and assured finishing throughout, striking up a potent partnership with fellow youthful frontman Mario Balotelli.

 
Centre-Forward- Edinson Cavani (Napoli)

The 26 year old Uruguayan hit-man is courting interest from right across Europe this summer and rightly so after a season in which he struck 29 goals to fire Napoli back to the Champions League after a year’s absence.

Full of pace, power and unerring finishing, Cavani is arguably the best central-forward in Europe and Rafael Benitez has a fight on his hands to keep the league’s top scorer at the San Paulo with his ambition to win trophies consistently outweighing just last year’s Coppa Italia.

 
Manager- Vincenzo Montella (Fiorentina)

Antonio Conte saw his team march to a successive title by a margin of nine points whilst Walter Mazzarri and Max Allegri both negotiated choppy waters at their clubs to finish in the Champions League qualification spots. Though it’s the manager who claimed the fourth who wins this gong, Vincenzo Montella for forging a cohesive, fluent Fiorentina.

His midfield of David Pizarro, Borja Valero and Alberto Aquilani were all transformed from stalling careers to providing the elegant backbone to La Viola, providing some of the most entertaining football in the division.

Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic were excellent in attack, spearheading Montella’s 3-5-2 to a higher finish than the richer, more illustrious Inter Milan, Roma and Lazio.

 

Written by Adam Gray

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamGray1250

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

West Ham: Big Sam rekindles big Premiership spirit

  By O-Posts Team | June 14, 2013 - 17:45 | , , ,
1 Comment

West Hams last campaign in the Premiership was nothing short of disastrous under Avram Grant. A squad with a strong spine, which included four England internationals, plummeted out the league with a whimper.

It was announced Sam Allardyce would oversee the Hammers 2011/2012 Championship campaign. Tipped to win the league by the bookies, the club secured promotion in the 87th minute of the Play off final, after missing out on automatic promotion. Sam Allardyce has always been tagged with the ‘long ball’ tactic and style of play. West Ham were guilty of that in the Championship, a league in which you need to go more direct at times to get out of.

As the Premiership campaign burst into life, West Ham faced a season where the objective was to simply stay up. West Ham fans didn’t care how the club did it, as long as Premiership football was secured for 2013/2014. This objective was made equally as important, after the news West Ham were awarded the Olympic Stadium, and will move in for the season 2016/2017.

Key signings helped the club try to achieve safety. Momo Diame, Matt Jarvis, Jussi Jaaskelainen and James Collins all played a big part as West Ham started strongly. The signing of Andy Carroll proved to be a pivotal coup for West Ham, linking him up with best friend Kevin Nolan. The powerful striker scored an abundance of goals and was a real asset.

As the season began to mould into shape around Christmas time, it was beginning to look as if West Ham would need a huge dip in form to drop into the bottom 3. The Hammers sat 12th, 8 clear of safety, winning 6 of their opening 18 games. However being West Ham, survival was never going to be as clear cut as it seemed.

That dip in form arrived just after Christmas. Carroll was ruled out for 2 months, while on the pitch, the side picked up 11 out of a possible 36 points. A number of clubs were grappling for their lives in what was shaping out to be one of the closest relegation battles in years, and now the East London club were watching over them nervously.

Joe Cole was a January arrival from Liverpool, just in time for West Ham to hit the ground running. A strong finish to the season saw the club secure a top half finish in their first season back in the Premiership. 10th place and 46 points was a great effort by all. Winston Reid had won the player of the year award. Big Sam had certainly got the best out the team.

The most impressive thing? The style of football. At times, they went long, but if a team had someone with the presence of Andy Carroll up front, it makes sense to give him a high ball to bring down. However, the club played some lovely football on the floor as well, having the ability to switch between two different styles.

Allardyce had made a team who were broken and defeated, into a solid and well organised unit, who were difficult to break down and top half Premiership side. All in the space of two years. The dreadful away form was disguised by the blistering home form. Four defeats all season at Upton Park had made the ground a fortress.

Sam Allardyce receives a lot of criticism, but in a close fought Premiership relegation battle, which towards the back end of the season included the entire bottom half, he deserves the plaudits for making sure that a newly promoted side weren’t to be deeply involved in the mire. While, he had the experience in the team, the key was being able to get the best out of them. The Hammers look resolute for the first time in a long time.

It’s difficult to say if Big Sam will ever get more praise than he receives, but the job he has done in two years at West Ham deserves credit, as the ‘Happy Hammers’ are smiling again.

 

Written by Tom Winch

Follow Tom on Twitter @winchy33

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

 

Zenit St. Petersburg: One hell of a season

  By O-Posts Team | June 10, 2013 - 21:21 | , , , ,
Leave a comment

It has been one hell of a season for Zenit Saint Petersburg. From the major coups of world-class stars Hulk and Axel Witsel, to the Igor Denisov fiasco, the 3 time Russian champions have experienced just about every emotion that there is possible this season. And as the saying goes, all’s well that ends well, finishing in a credible 2nd place in the Russian Premier League and getting another shot at the Champions League for next season.

Not retaining their champions title for the third time in a row has cast a dark shadow over the season though, and while there has been plenty of calls for dramatic changes to take place within the club before the start of the new season, it’s practically impossible.

In just 8 weeks, Zenit will begin their 2013/14 Champions League campaign in the qualifying rounds, as well as beginning the new Russian championship, leaving no time for anything meaningful to be changed. If there is actually any need for major changes to occur though in the first place, is a debatable question in itself.

After claiming the Russian title for the second time in a row last year, as well as getting all the way to the last 16 of the Champions League, expectations going into this season were pretty high. And when the record breaking signings of Hulk and Axel Witsel were announced, these expectations only went through the roof. Looking back in hindsight however, it seems these purchases may have inadvertently scuppered all chances of success.

Not that it has got anything to do with how Hulk and Witsel performed on the field themselves, though.

Zenit old boys Igor Denisov and Alexander Kerzhakov felt highly threatened by the fact that these new kids on the block were going to earn just a bit more money than the ‘real’ Zenit icons themselves, something which in the end has gone on to ruin Zenit’s season completely. Denisov was frozen out of the team for a number of weeks, while Kerzhakov came to his senses a bit sooner. But Zenit’s game suffered seriously as a result, performing poorly in the Champions League with only managing to grab third place in their group, and falling off the pace in the domestic league.

The in team fighting didn’t stop there either. Right at the end of the year, in the game away at Milan in the CL, Hulk appeared to gesture that he had had enough at Zenit after being substituted. The situation was eventually resolved in time for 2013, but it’s hard to remember a season where there were so many problems within just one team.

Hulk and Witsel.... big-money duo catalysts for club in-fighting.

Hulk and Witsel…. big-money duo catalysts for club in-fighting and tensions.

 

Just a couple of weeks ago, in a vital Premier League clash against Rostov on the road, both the outspoken Roman Shirokov and normally amicable playmaker Danny made strong gestures against head coach Luciano Spalletti – both refusing to shake his hand after being substituted. Shirokov went one step further in last week’s home game against Volga, being sent off after making an obscene hand signal to the stands after scoring Zenit’s third goal in a 3-1 victory.

Shirokov’s future with the club is now not surprisingly, in major question. One thing you can’t get away from, is that Zenit would seriously miss him. Shirokov possess the unique ability of being able to play football in such an elegant manner, and trying to replace that sort of player will be a very hard challenge indeed. Fans seem pretty divided about the issue too, some would be only pleased to see the back of him, while some are very well aware of the void that he would leave.

In the case that he does decide to end his controversial stay in Saint Petersburg, Zenit just have to look at their own youth system to find a replacement for him. Pavel Mogilevets, a young 20 year old attacking midfielder made his Zenit debut a few weeks ago against Volga, and has already been audaciously dubbed the ‘Russian Messi’ by some.

That is just what the club has to do much more, make use of their own talented products that they are producing themselves, rather than spending ridiculously large amounts of money on foreigners. Hulk at least has at last started to prove his worth at the back end of the season, scoring a stunning hat trick against Alania in a recent 4-0 win, and almost single-handedly taking Zenit within a whisker of winning a third title on the spin.

Second place isn’t quite first, especially for a club that is used to only winning all the time, but claiming silver medals and fighting off new European force Anzhi for them, is a real success in itself. Anzhi will frustratingly have to deal with only the Europa League again with a team that is well equipped for the Champions League, but Zenit have yet another chance in the tournament in which they are yet to really make their name in. A group stage exit and going on to only reach the last 16 in the Europa League isn’t quite what everyone expected going in to this season, but the dramatic victory against Liverpool in the Europa League last 32 is something which will live long in my memory without a doubt.

What has to be done to improve showings in Europe, is a puzzle that since the UEFA Cup and Super Cup triumphs in 2008, no one has been able to work out. And trying to negotiate the notoriously challenging Champions League qualifying rounds in the summer will be no simple task. Spalletti’s future will most probably depend on what results await in the summer, and there is just no time to change things around now. Eradicate the pure self-greed of certain players, and this season let alone next season, could have been a real success.

But calling a second placed finish a failure is just a sign of the strength that Zenit possess, you would be hard pushed to find any other club that would turn their noses up at earning medals of some colour, and qualifying for the biggest club competition on Earth at the same time. In my book, that’s no failure whatsoever.

 

Written by Shaun Nicolaides

Follow Shaun on Twitter @zenitfan93

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

England’s U-21 Squad: Why don’t they take the Euros seriously?

  By O-Posts Team | June 10, 2013 - 21:00 | , , , , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Juan Mata, Mesut Ozil, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Iker Casillas, Andrea Pirlo, Petr Cech – what do these great players have in common apart from being world class? All have stared in the UEFA Under 21 Championship in recent years and gone on to be key performers for their clubs and countries by building on the experience gained in the competition.

It is no coincidence that the countries who have had recent success in the Under 21 European Championship – Spain, Italy, Germany and Netherlands – have gone on to either win, or feature in, a Euro’s or World Cup final in recent years.

If the Under 21 European Championship is seen as a stepping stone for some of the best players in the world across Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, why do England fail to take the competition as seriously as they should?

The 2013 Under 21 European Championship begins tonight in Israel, with England looking to win their first Championship since 1984. During that time, 7 different nations have won the competition – Italy (5 times), Spain (3), Netherlands (2), Germany (1), France (1),Czech Republic (1) and Soviet Union (1).

To make things worse for England, they have only appeared in the final once during that period when they were comprehensively crushed by an Ozil inspired Germany 4-0 in 2009. England will fancy themselves to reach the latter stages of the competition, however if recent performances in major tournaments is anything to go by, more questions are likely to be raised than answers provided about England as a footballing nation.

The key issue I have with how England approach these types of competitions is the squad. If you want to achieve success, at a youth then senior level, surely it is important to take your best squad to improve your chances of winning. Success breeds success – just look at Ferguson’s Man Utd ‘Class of 92’ who moved up the ranks together winning everything at youth then senior level.

Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Spain have included a number of players in their Under 21 squad who have already made their full International debuts and could have been excluded from the tournament in favour of the senior team.

However, the likes of Verratti, Insigne, Holtby, Strootman, Wijnaldum, Thiago, Isco to name a few, will all play major roles in the Under 21 Championship after their respective countries decided it would be best for the development of the players and the long-term footballing future of the nation for them to take part.

Compare this decision with England – Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones and Rodwell are all eligible to play in Israel, however they were instead picked for the full England squad for the recent friendlies against Ireland and Brazil. Unfortunately Welbeck, Wilshere and Sterling are injured so are ruled out of the tournament, but the reality is that if they weren’t sidelined, Sterling would probably have been the only one of these players to have featured.

Butland, Caulker, Henderson, Shelvey and Zaha have all gained full International caps in recent months and they are all included in the Under 21 squad, however, Zaha aside, none of these players are at the same level as the likes of Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere. More importantly, none of these players are anywhere near the same standard as the likes of Holtby, Verratti and Isco.

There is obviously benefit to having young players link up with the senior England squad, but I’d much prefer to see Oxlade-Chamberlain helping England to lift the Under 21 Championship trophy rather than having a good cameo appearance against Brazil in a pointless friendly.

In fact, England’s squad lacks experience of playing in the Premier League, let alone at International level. Caulker, Rose, Clyne, Henderson, Shelvey and Wickham are some of the only names to have featured in the top-flight of English football this season.

Instead, Stuart Pearce has been forced to look at the Championship and below, with players such as Steele, Lees, Chalobah, Ince, Lansbury and Sordell featuring in the squad instead. This is probably down to a more deep-routed issue within the English game of a lack of home-grown talent, however that subject is far too complicated to cover now!

Interestingly though, the issue of not playing your best available players doesn’t seem to be anything new for England. I looked at the previous Under 21 Championship squads and noticed some extraordinary exclusions – Rooney, Gerrard, Terry and Rio Ferdinand are considered some of the best players to have put on the England shirt in recent years, however none of these players have ever featured in an Under 21 European Championship.

If success breeds success, unfortunately it looks like we’ll be waiting a lot longer before we know what that feels like in England!

The list below shows the ‘house-hold’ English Premier League players who have featured in the Under 21 European Championship during the past 5 tournaments and have gone on to represent England at senior International level.

 

2011 – Bertrand, Smalling, Jones, Henderson, Welbeck, Sturridge, Gibbs, Walker, Cleverley, Rodwell

2009 – Hart, Milner, Agbonlahor, Johnson, Walcott, Rodwell, Richards, Gibbs

2007 – Baines, Anton Ferdinand, Cahill, Young, Hart, Milner, Huddlestone

2002 – Robinson, Barry, Defoe, Jenas, Parker, Crouch, Zamora

2000 – Robinson, Carragher, Lampard

 

Written by Dave Hornby

Follow Dave on Twitter @False_Number9

Check out his excellent blog, The False Number 9 Blog

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Chelsea: The Blues’ complex battle with the CPO

  By O-Posts Team | June 9, 2013 - 20:31 | , , ,
Leave a comment

.

Two years ago, Chelsea lost their bid to buy back the Stamford Bridge freehold after a dramatic EGM with Chelsea Pitch Owners shareholders.

The consensus amongst the fans was, and still is, that, despite the obvious historical sentiment it holds and the fact a club legend, whose contributions to the club meant Chelsea Football Club still exists today, is buried underneath the pitch, we will have to leave Stamford Bridge at some point to get a bigger ground which will increase the revenue that will allow us to continue to compete at elite level.

Assuming that the fans actually want us to remain as a competitive force in European football and we cannot find a suitable site with a 3-mile radius, the only logical option is to expand our search area? I am not saying this is ideal but I fully understand this argument. Possibly the board could have stated a limit of 5, 7 or 10 mile radius from the current site as obviously there are many people who fear we could relocate to Glasgow (wild example I know but it makes my point).

This is why the proposed move to Earls Court has been almost unanimously welcomed.

However, there are still sections of supporters who remain a little sceptical of the CPO’s influence, and by voting no the CPO are not acting in the best interest of Chelsea Football Club.

One such supporter, Josh Green, sent me this email:

- “Whilst I am very grateful for the actions of the CPO investors at the time, please correct me if I am wrong, but I understood that the creation of the CPO was initiated purely as a legal maneuver to prevent any aggressive actions by one or more predatory property companies to protect Stamford Bridge from development. I am well aware of the past situation regarding Mahler estates etc.“

To clarify, I do not believe that the CPOs were ever issued, or intended to be used, as either collateral, leverage or to have any power related to dictating the future commercial interests of Chelsea Football Club. It was purely an emergency measure designed at the time to create a legal quagmire for the vultures.

The scheme obviously worked, but I am now somewhat alarmed that some CPO holders have moved the goalposts to imply that, for their 100 pounds, they consider that the issuing of the CPO shares was intended to, or actually gives them the right to dictate the future of Chelsea FC. I agree that protecting the future location of Chelsea FC is very important and rightfully an emotional subject.

I also agree that Chelsea FC should not be moved out of the immediate vicinity; however from a business perspective Chelsea FC cannot realistically negotiate anything unless they have the full control, authority to do so and that means owning the rights to the pitch etc..

In respect of the responsibilities of the CPO Directors and that the CPO should maintain a collective influence over the club to ensure that the club remains in West/South-West London, surely the clubs commitment to move to a site within 3 miles of the current stadium up to 2020 and it’s overall stated objective to remain as close to it’s roots as possible thereafter confirms what the clubs major objective to any possible move is. The sticking point still remains as to what exactly happens post 2020.

There has to be some realism though from the CPO that if by 2020 the club has not found a new site and there is a need to move to protect the clubs future and all sites within a 3 mile radius have been exhausted there will be a need to extend the search zone and both sides should be agreeing an extension of perhaps 5 miles to the original 3 mile objective.

I understand that legally this move must be done in agreement with the CPO but I don’t think the CPO should act as a barrier to the clubs progression, ensuring that the club remains as close to their original roots as possible is understandable but the club needs some maneuverability. We need a sensible solution to this and the protectionist view of “this is our home”, “Earls Court is not convenient to me” or “we can’t move away from the pubs we know” won’t help find a solution.” -

My response to this email would have been short and simple – the CPO are a noble organisation and those accusing them of a lack of gratitude are showing a huge lack of gratitude themselves.

As Abramovich has never given an interview no-one knows why he bought the club but I would suggest it wasn’t as a gesture to the fans to stop their club going bust. He probably bought Chelsea as a businessman or for a toy, or perhaps a combination of the two.

Clearly he has become a huge fan and has enormous affection for the club but does he have the unconditional love that lifelong Chelsea fans who bought into CPO have?

It’s been well established that the CPO bought their shares purely to protect the future of the club and so to get on their backs when they continue to act with the same motive is incredibly naive and, dare I say it, ungrateful.

Although there is a risk of upsetting our incredibly wealthy owner, for whom we should be grateful for our recent success, the CPO voted no as the proposal from the club was vague and represented it’s own risks, in that post 2020 we could feasibly end up playing our home games outside of London.

The bottom line is that there is a better compromise to be reached and until the CPO have more assurances, why should they give up what they acquired through good will during Chelsea’s most worrying times? Imagine they gave up their bargaining power on blind faith and in 2 years Abramovich was gone due to an accident, illness, economic downturn? The club could be in the hands of people like Hicks and Gillette before we know it and totally out of the control of the fans. What we have is unique and shouldn’t be given up on blind faith and vague promises.

The Shed End…. special.

I was, and still am, concerned by how things unfolded the last time the club and the CPO sat down together, but I was more critical as to how this was handled by the club rather than the CPO. Clearly people are worried by Abramovich’s response to this but if it turns out to be negative then surely that vindicates the CPO and strengthens their position.

With regards to the “rich fans” – by this I mean the 20 individuals hired by Bruce Buck & co to purchase over 10% of the shares – having a say. They should not have the same rights, unless of course you think taking specific actions to pervert the democratic process is acceptable.

With regard to general polls supporting the move, wherever they appear, you have to recognize that these days they are influenced by large numbers of people who will not be affected personally one way or the other, whether we move to a new stadium or not, yet they appear all to eager to back an option which will have a negative impact on most match going fans. If you want to widen the franchise on the vote, make it for season ticket holders and members, and then I think it’s fair to say you will find the vast majority would not want have voted ‘Yes’ to the proposals laid out a couple of years ago.

As said many, many times before CPO are happy to move to a larger stadium as long as its in the right area. Its just that Roman is going to have to take the fans views on the matter a little more seriously than he has done so hitherto, and on that basis we should indeed all be able to work together to come to the right solution for the club and its supporters.

All parties want what is best for Chelsea Football Club in the long term, but the club HAS to maintain a connection with its roots, it’s community, it’s history. It has to serve in the best interests of it’s paying customers, not forgetting that the atmosphere generated by the fans in the ground, and the tradition of those clubs is a big part of what makes English football such an enjoyable television experience for a global audience.

Its also helps attract the worlds best players. So let’s not throw that all away and become a US style soulless franchise.

 

Written by Frankie

Follow Frankie on Twitter @Frankiee44

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Barcelona: A Roller-coaster of a Season

  By O-Posts Team | June 7, 2013 - 23:51 | , , , ,
Leave a comment

Despite winning the Copa Del Rey, 11/12 was not a season to remember for Barcelona and the Blaugranes and following Pep Guardiola’s departure the club was open to criticism from the Spanish press.

Some newspapers disapproved of Tito Vilanova’s appointment because of his lack of experienced and they blamed his ‘over complication’ of tactics as assistant manager for some Barca’s home defeats that season. Vilanova and his players certainly had a point to prove.

The La Liga season started with two routine wins against Real Sociedad, 5-1, and an away win versus Osasuna. At this point Barcelona already had a five point lead over Real Madrid who had failed to win at home to Valencia and then lost to Getafe. Barca led the league table and would do so for the rest of the season, a new record.

Real Madrid, made determined by their humiliating start of the season, defeated Barca in the Supercopa Espanol in a tight affair on away goals. Given the way the season had started this came to Barcelona’s surprise.

El Clasico defeat is a bitter pill to swallow, perhaps more so for Barca given the political connotations, and it drove the Catalan club onto a 16 match unbeaten run in the league including wins against Atletico Madrid and Valencia.

Barcelona’s first league defeat of the season came at the hands of Real Sociedad, the eventual fourth placed club. Barcelona had gone 2-0 up at the Anoeta, Messi scoring a record 10th goal in a row in the process, before Sociedad fired home three unanswered goals.

In the month after Barcelona were disappointing, losing to AC Milan 2-0 at the San Siro, drawing with Valencia and getting knocked out by Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey.

The silenced critics started to re emerge, Barca’s ‘best team in history’ had people taking shots at it left, right and centre. Coping with success is easy, but coping with defeat is the hallmark of champions and Barca were ready to do just that.

Barca’s first game on their bounce back from El Classico failure was a 2-0 win against the subsequently relegated Deporitvo. Then, against Milan the sleeping giant was awoken. A 4-0 win at the Camp Nou once again silenced the critics.

Barca proceeded to knock out PSG, controversially, on away goals and beat Mallorca 5-0 away. A further two wins against Zaragoza and Levante appeared to have settled the ship.

Then it happened; in, perhaps, the most significant result in recent European football history Bayern Munich demolished, and that’s an understatement, 4-0 at the Allianz Arena. Catalan heads dropped across the land, maybe this was truly the end of an era, the end of the greatest side in history.

A rested Barca side failed to win at Athletic Club in a 2-2 draw but the big game of the week was the home leg versus Bayern Munich. Surely even Barcelona couldn’t turn the tables on this one. It was one thing turning round a 2-0 deficit against Milan, but four against arguably the best squad in Europe? That would be something special.

Unfortunately for the Blaugranas it was not to be, in fact it was humiliation once more as Muller and Robben ripped apart their team. Now, with just the league available, the team could focus its frustrations on league victory.

With Tito Vilanova back the Catalan club proceeded to be victorious in the remaining five games including a 4-1 success at home to Malaga; it was in this game they broke their own points record, 100, and led La Liga by 15 points ahead of Real Madrid.

It has been a rollercoaster season for Barcelona, but now they will be more determined than ever to win back the Champions League. Having added Neymar to their side they may become the undisputed Kings of Europe once more.

 

Written by Thomas Munson

Follow Thomas on Twitter @LeCanonniers

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Bayern Munich: The Bavarian’s Greatest Ever Squad

  By O-Posts Team | June 6, 2013 - 00:41 | , , , ,
Leave a comment

“I am the best, I AM THE BEST” – Paul Breitner on the winning mentality of FC Bayern München.

On 19th May 2012, “Our City, Our Stadium, Our Cup” was the message sent out by the Bayern fans, but, it ended up being “Your city, your stadium, our cup”. Perhaps even worse, they were beaten by a team which most of the Germans do not like- a club owned by a foreign billionaire. It should have been a great season for Bayern, however, they did a Leverkusen,  lost to Dortmund in the league killed the chance of winning the Bundesliga; then lost again to Dortmund in Berlin in the DFB Cup Final; after Drogba scored the winning penalty for Chelsea, everyone wondered if Bayern will ever pick themselves up the following season…

Two years without a trophy may be alright for a club like Arsenal, but it was seen as a catastrophe for the red team in Munich, and as ever, the powerful Uli Hoeness had to do something about it, and his first victim? – sporting director Christian Nerlinger. Firstly, he was unable to secure the service of the talented Marco Reus, and secondly, he did not have the “we must win” mentality at Munich. Instead, the man who replaced him was perfect for the job – Matthias Sammer, who understands the importance of not only playing the beautiful football but also at the end of the day, winning trophies is the most important thing.

The second problem Honess identified was the lack of quality on the bench, which was one factor why Bayern lost in the Champions League final, so obviously wasted no time and dived into the transfer market: Dante; Shaqiri; Mandzukic; return of Pizarro and the most expensive signing in Bundesliga history – Javi Martinez. In particular, Dante, Martinez and Mandzukic have all made  great contributions this season.

Although Dante was only brought into the squad as a backup CB, however, he has proved on the first day that he was the rock to the team, and together with Martinez, they have really tightened up the defence; whilst Gomez was sidelined, Mandzukic has done a brilliant job, since he presses the opponents much more than Gomez, perhaps isn’t as clinical as Gomez, but still managed to keep the German international on the bench most of the time after injury.

The Super Cup at the start of the season was just a glimpse into what kind of monster team Bayern was going to be, they were 2-0 up against Dortmund (a team they have not beaten for two years) in only 11 minutes, with Lewandowski eventually pulling one back for the Black & Yellows. This is the first trophy since the first year of Van Gaal’s reign, as well as the first one Philipp Lahm has ever lifted as a captain.

The first half of Bundesliga went brilliantly for Bayern, confirmed as Winter Champions even before facing the defending champions Dortmund at the Allianz Arena. Perhaps the only dent in this half season was losing to Leverkusen 2-1 at home, an uncharacteristic Lahm error gifted Kiessling the goal before half time, Mandzukic, but a deflected shot from Sidney Sam gave Leverkusen the victory. This match gave signals that this team can switch off a lot, since Bayern had plenty of chances to score, perhaps could have won match. This of course happened again several times over the whole season, i.e. Nurnberg, Valencia.

The biggest news during winter break was that Pep Guardiola will take over from Jupp Heynckes from end of June, and while the media was focusing on who will Pep buy, sell etc, the players concentrated on winning the treble for Heynckes as the farewell present. And second half of the season was even better than the first! Bayern won 16 matches and drew only one, and clinched the title with a win vs Frankfurt and became the earliest champion in Bundesliga history (6th April), as well as breaking all the records there are, eg, fewest goals conceded (18 all season), most points etc.

Overall, there were not a lot of exciting matches, but a few standouts, especially last day thriller with Gladbach, where eventually Bayern won 4-3, perhaps a much needed wakeup call before the Champions League final since Gladbach were 3-2 up in only 18 minutes, they had to fight hard, and that Ribery super strike was definitely one of the goals of the season. This match really showed that although Bayern may not have had a good day, but the team worked together, and overturned the match.

Even though since the beginning of the season, Bayern have always said that the priorities were the Bundesliga and DFB Cup, but as the season progressed, they were so far ahead in the league that winning the Champions League was seen as a must. Bayern kicked off the CL pretty shaky to be honest, only kept one clean sheet until the quarter finals, and almost got knocked out by Arsenal in Last 16.

However, the performances against Juventus and Barcelona were the best performances of the season. Juventus have a great midfield, but Bayern managed to torn them apart; same with Barcelona, they have great attacking players and midfielders, yet Bayern still managed to score seven (okay, one was an own goal) past one of the best team of all time and none conceded.

The matches vs Barcelona really showed that nowadays, team work in a team is much more important than a team with all the biggest names in football, and really, all the credits to Heynckes. There were a lot of egos brewing last season, and now all the players have learnt that if you don’t help each other out (attacking players track back and defend) and play as a team, you will not win a trophy.

So the date was 25th May, a sunny day in London, the world watched as Wembley welcomed the first ever all German Champions League final. The relationship between Bayern and Dortmund turned sour after the Gotze transfer (later Hoeness revealed that Pep actually wanted Neymar but Bayern did not want to take another risk with a South American player, we all know what happened last time right? Breno, yes he is still in jail), and also when they faced off just a few weeks ago in the league, there were some on field duels, most noticeably was Sammer vs Klopp (PS, Dortmund fans know all about Sammer), so this final was going to be exciting!!! And it was indeed!

First half, Bayern started badly, and it just seemed that the defence were still drunk, and if it was not for some superb saves from Neuer, Bayern probably would have lost already. But Bayern got stronger and stronger, eventually broke the deadlocks and won it, after 12 years, they are European Champions once again! Even though Bayern were not at their best, but still managed to win, which is a sign of a great team. But can they win next year and make history being the first team to win back to back in the Champions League era?

Bayern also won the DFB Pokal to complete the first treble from Germany after a tense last 20 minutes match with Stuttgart, along the way they defeated Dortmund and never conceded a goal till that stunning Diego strike in the semi final vs Wolfsburg. To be frank, Bayern were long way behind their best, and Stuttgart could have stolen it right under their nose. But it also highlighted how influential Dante had been throughout the season, and he was dearly missed in this match (still very unfair that Neymar can travel to Barcelona for a press conference, but if Dante & Gustavo did play, they would never play for Brazil again) .

The players of the season for me have been Schweinsteiger and Ribery. Schweinsteiger can control games and also helped out with the attack much more than before due to the addition of Martinez, who is very defensive minded. Remember Schweinsteiger was the player, who suffered the most last season, his penalty saved in the CL gave the trophy to Chelsea, and he didn’t have great Euros either, since he was still carrying the injury. But this was his best goal scoring season, and his beautiful back heel goal vs Frankfurt won Bayern the Bundesliga.

Ribery had the best season since he joined Bayern, his creativity, goals, and great partnership with particularly Kroos was just wow! Everyone talks about Gotzeus, but Kroosery/Riberoos deserve to be talked about more. In the match vs Arsenal, both players were not in the line-up, and Bayern were very poor, and lucky to progress, shows how important those players actually are.

And over the course of the season, the partnership between Jupp Heynckes and Matthias Sammer worked like a dream. Heynckes has been very calm, and he dealt with the difficult characters (ie Ribery, Robeen) very well, and also let the attacking players to also help out with the defence, I mean has anyone ever seen Gomez and Robben got a yellow cards on challenges? Sammer was not afraid to criticize the team (seen vs Bremen), and although he was very public and Heynckes was not a fan of it, but he really brought the players down to earth, motivate them to be even more ambitious. And now with all four titles won in a season, which no teams have ever done in Germany till now, Jupp Heynckes deserves all the credit, and will be remembered perhaps as the best coach Bayern has ever had.

Sammer.... fruitful partnership with Hoeness.

Sammer…. fruitful partnership with Hoeness.

So, now referring to the title, is this the best Bayern team ever? The benchmark has always been the hattrick European Cup winning 70s team, even Breitner admitted the current team is perhaps the best, but there is no Gerd Muller, he was the difference, and is the difference now. He is right, the current team is more about team work, and there is not a scorer that can score 60 odd goals (Gomez benched). But also remember when Bayern first won the European Cup, they finished 10th in the league, and this current team won everything in a single season. Personally, if this team can win at least the Champions League and the league, then no doubt the best team ever.

For now, it is goodbye Jupp and hello Pep, we have to wait and see how Pep’s first season will be like. Already three new transfers done (Kirchoff from Mainz, Gotze and Rhode may be joining the next season); Muller & Badstuber contracts extended, with possible contract extensions to Kroos, Ribery, Van Buyten (Badstuber will not be back at the beginning the season) and Pizarro; this will be a busy summer at the Allianz Arena. Another huge question everyone will be asking is who will leave? And Gomez looks certain to leave (Lewandowski has signed a contract with Bayern), but who else?

Lastly, Heynckes finally got the recognition he deserves now, and DANKE JUPP from all the Bayern fans!

 

Written by Selina

Follow Selina on Twitter @Reuzil

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Manchester City: Navas will provide the Citizens with much needed width

  By O-Posts Team | June 5, 2013 - 13:36 | , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Manchester City completed the signing of Jesus Navas from Sevilla earlier this week for £17 million plus add-ons. Having surrendered their Premier League title to Manchester United and parting company with Roberto Mancini this is the first statement of intent by the club.

Navas will provide City with the one thing they have lacked this season – width. During some games their dependency on Yaya Toure’s bursts through the middle made their play incredibly predictable. The Spaniard has pace to burn and will provide the new manager with another dimension in attack.

It is an exciting move for the former Sevilla winger who has suffered from extreme home sickness throughout his career. As far back as 2006 he was linked to the Premier League but his unwillingness to leave has delayed his move away from Spain. It has caused serious issues with his International career too and has resulted in him leaving training camps early to return home.

He emerged through the youth team ranks at Sevilla where his electric pace and ability to take players on has made him one of the most exciting players to watch in Spain. Unfortunately for the club and Navas the club has had a fairly inconsistent time in recent seasons and his desire to play at a higher level has resulted in his departure. The fact that Sevilla are also in severe financial trouble will also have hastened the move.

Having represented Spain at International level and appearing in Europe almost every season since making his debut he is accustomed to playing against the best. What will be interesting to see though is how he is deployed at City. He has spent the majority of his career on the right wing where he has terrorised the opponents’ left-backs time and again. This season however he has operated slightly more centrally where his pace can take him beyond the lines faster than others.

What City have been crying out for is some width but with Manuel Pellegrini seemingly waiting to be confirmed as the new manager at City this situation may change. There are also issues to be resolved within the team over the futures of several of their attacking players. It could be that Navas’ future in England could be more of an old fashioned inside forward rather than an out and out winger but it is mere speculation at the moment.

The fact remains though that Manchester City have completed an outstanding bit of business that benefits everyone concerned. If Navas can keep his home sickness under control his partnership with Aguero and Silva should prove to be fascinating.

It is sad to see another top player leaving domestic Spanish football but his progress will be followed closely by everyone associated with Sevilla.

 

Written by Andy Hunter

Follow Andy on Twitter @hunter67980

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Inter Milan: Why Mazzarri could have been a wise man moving to the Nerazzurri

  By O-Posts Team | June 1, 2013 - 21:29 | , , ,
Leave a comment

On the 25th March last year, Claudio Ranieri was leading Inter Milan to a run of 2 wins in 13 matches and a 2-0 defeat to Juventus proved the final straw for club president Massimo Moratti. The day before Ranieri’s dismissal, Andrea Stramaccioni was leading Inter’s young crop to the championship of the inaugural Next Gen series, convincing Moratti that he was the man to oversee the transition from a tired squad still influenced heavily by the hangover from the treble-winning year of 2010, to a fresher, hungrier generation.

A season later and Moratti has sacked Stramaccioni after another year of frustration in which Inter finished ninth, 33 points behind Serie A champions Juventus. An injury crisis of bizarre proportions, hitting 17 players in total, saw the Nerazzuri fall from Champions League contention in January to the ignominy of mid-table in the second-half of the season.

Moratti, in his endless search for the revival of success, wasn’t buying the excuses and decided to make Stramaccioni his fifth managerial casualty since Jose Mourinho departed three years ago. The Italian oil tycoon has turned to Walter Mazzarri, having just called time on his successful four year reign at Napoli, in the hope he can turn Inter back on an upward curve. In Naples, he inherited a bottom-half Serie A side and transformed them into Champions League qualifiers, perhaps it is this record of turning mediocrity into sustained success that has appealed to Moratti.

But what has appealed to Mazzarri? Napoli had finished second and had just posted a financial profit for the sixth straight year. Aurelio De Laurentiis, Napoli’s owner, was unmoving in his support for the coach, yet Mazzarri has found a declining Inter, with a hire-and-fire regime in full effect and without the promise of European football for next term, a more attractive prospect.

Maybe it is because Inter are better placed to fight for trophies than Napoli and casting aside their respective league finishes of last season, it is not such an outlandish claim. Last November, it was Inter who ended Juve’s long-standing unbeaten Serie A run under Antonio Conte with a 1-3 win in Turin which moved them within a point of the Old Lady.

From that moment, disaster struck as Stramaccioni won only 7 of his remaining 27 matches as the dramatic injury curse set-in. Possibly, Mazzarri has seen the gross medical misfortune as more damaging to Inter’s challenge than any underlying squad malaise. He has already insisted on bringing the players back from their summer break two days earlier so they can work on their fitness with his conditioning coach Giuseppe Prondelli, whom he has brought with him from Napoli.

Tactics will also be an issue, with Stramaccioni failing to settle on one particular system and causing confusion as he shuffled between 3-4-3, 4-3-3 and 4-3-1-2, Mazzarri will likely to install the consistency of his 3-5-1-1 which served him so well at the San Paolo. It is no coincidence that his first transfer target as he arrives at the San Siro is rumoured to be Colombian wing-back Camilo Zuniga who served him so well at Napoli, opposite the right-sided Christian Maggio.

The spine of Mazzarri’s side is already in place with Andrea Ranocchia having started to show his potential at the back, behind a solid, experienced midfield duo of Esteban Cambiasso and Walter Gargano, with whom Inter have a “gentleman’s agreement” to sign permanently after a one-year loan spell.

A blow will surely come in the form of the evergreen captain Javier Zanetti finally having to call it a day at the age of 39 following a long-term leg injury, though Joel Obi, Samuele Longo, Marco Benassi and Ibrahma Mbaye have all suggested there is much promise in Inter’s next generation. Keeping hold of Freddy Guarin should be a priority of Mazzarri’s, having been a rare shining light in Inter’s disappointing season in attacking midfield, he will fit into a similar role in which Mazzarri produced excellent form from Marek Hamsik at Napoli.

The 51 year old manager seems well-placed to deliver continuity and possible success to Inter, though it remains to be seen just how patient Moratti will be with his new coach. The move from Napoli to Inter, at this moment in time, seems like regression but for Mazzarri it may be a very astute decision.

Injuries were the flaw of Strammacioni, find a solution to that and Mazzarri may finally give Moratti just what he is looking for.

 

Written by Adam Gray

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamGray1250

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts