Tag Archives: opinion

Fan Culture: England vs Eastern Europe

  By O-Posts Team | April 21, 2013 - 16:49 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Football hooliganism is something which plagues the sport all around the world, but in England, it is something which is hoped to be just about extinguished. Long gone are the terraces which were last seen years ago with the Hillsborough disaster being the trigger for the reform in the English footballing culture , and in their place, are only all seater safe looking stadiums. But the events last Sunday, proved that football hooliganism is long from being diminished.

The Newcastle-Sunderland derby is always a passionate and highly charged affair, as shown by Paolo Di Canio’s vibrant celebrations on the touchline on Sunday, but the behaviour of the Newcastle fans was something which hasn’t been seen in England for sometime. Whether it be throwing bottles at police, or trying in vain to pick fights with rival Sunderland supporters, they have shown that the thug culture in English football is still very much present.

In other countries though, such events wouldn’t even make local news let alone national news. Eastern European football is synonymous with right wing fan groups making trouble, but if it will ever be stamped out, is a question that is surrounded by serious doubt.

An even bigger question though, is what football would be like, without so called ‘ultras’. From their spectacular pre match shows on the stands, which include banners of a high artistic quality, aided with the typically controversial fire crackers, they certainly do add atmosphere. But it isn’t just Eastern Europe that possesses such die hard fans. Well developed footballing countries with rich histories, such as Germany and Italy, haven’t seen their footballing cultures disappear with the success and money that have came their way.

In England though, it’s somewhat a different story. The country may lay claim to having the most popular league in the world, with clubs that consistently perform excellently on the European stage, but it is the only country in Europe, where no fan culture is in existence anywhere. Ever since the Hillsborough incident in 1989, in which 96 fans tragically lost their lives following a crush in the stadium after too many fans were let into the stadium, signalled the end of the English fan movement. Liverpool for example may still have their Kop, but you would be hard-pressed to find any other English club which has anything similar to hardcore fans.

For some though, it’s only a good thing. To be able to go to the stadium with your family to watch a game, and being able to enjoy a family day out while feeling completely safe, is something which you couldn’t do in a country like Russia for example. When I went to an ice hockey in Moscow, a game that was even relatively low key, you couldn’t help by feel intimidated by the police on horses which greeted you around the stadium. It isn’t something that I wouldn’t recommend to parents wishing to take a young child to, but the opposing argument is just as strong.

So called ultras, the right wing hardcore fans, create a fantastic atmosphere at every game, an atmosphere that can seriously intimidate opponents and affect the end result of the game in a serious way. They are just completely non existent in England though, and the closest you will get to an ultra here, is a fan that quite happily join in with the somewhat monotonous and if I’m honest boring chanting, only after their team has scored. If the result isn’t quite going their way though, you shouldn’t be surprised to see the stadium already half empty with 10 minutes still to be played.

It is a problem that is shown up horribly, every time visiting European fans are visiting. Throughout the recent Tottenham-Basel Europa League game in London, you would be hard-pressed to hear any sort of noise that sounded like British and not Swiss voices. It’s hard to know who to point the blame at though, the fans themselves, or the English footballing system which you may say, is preventing any hardcore fans, from making any sort of impact whatsoever.

For me the answer is simple, English fans are too damn lazy to get off their backsides and make an effort, something which is just part of the English culture as whole. While fans in countries such as Russia – and in poorer Eastern bloc countries such as Bosnia and Serbia may be labelled as living in a timewarp with some of their beliefs and actions – no one can doubt, the amount of effort, that they put in to their team week in week out. Something which gives their club – and country as a whole – a real strong identity, an identity that England just doesn’t possess as a result of their own laziness. Any old so called fan can buy a season ticket and sit down at the stadium, but a real fan does more than the bare minimum.

Everything has its positives though, and one of the stand out positives, is that football is a real family game in Britain. Trouble is virtually never seen in the stadium or around it, excluding the odd drunkard that has a few too many. Events on Sunday have shocked everyone somewhat however. Newcastle and Sunderland may be major rivals, but no one predicted, that such behaviour from the Newcastle supporters would have been witnessed. But if you take into account how much alcohol they would have consumed preceding the incident though, and everything starts to appear more and more understandable.

While any behaviour that endangers the safety of other should always be condemned, passion is something that should only be praised. But if anyone calls what was seen on Sunday as footballing passion, then they are just a bit deluded. Young teenagers, who joined in with the incident for the fun of it, don’t deserve the right of being called football supporters.

A more appropriate title, is thugs. Some may argue it was a show of real passion for their club for the Newcastle supporters, but it’s just a shame, that English football passion is more akin to the state of being drunk, than actually being bothered to making an effort.

Eastern Europe may be a few steps behind in terms of infrastructure and commercialism, but are streets ahead with their fans – fans who may be old fashioned – would do anything for their beloved club, something which only deserves to be admired.

 

Written by Shaun Nicolaides

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Chelsea: Di Matteo’s Sacking and Benitez’s Appointment – Right Move for the Blues?

  By O-Posts Team | November 22, 2012 - 01:20 | ,
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Earlier today, while at school, I was informed of the sacking of Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo and my first feeling was one of bemusement. Bemused at the fact that the man who had led Chelsea to their first Champions League trophy and to an FA Cup all within two months had been sacked after a disappointing few results.

But my second feeling was one of “here we go again”. Yet again, on TV, on social media and in newspapers, there would be a reaction to the sacking of a Chelsea manager. We were in this situation in March this year. Very frustrating.

What makes this even more frustrating and annoying is the fact that little to no Chelsea fans were calling for the sacking of Di Matteo, unlike when AVB was the manager in a supposed “crisis”. As much as every Chelsea fan (including myself) appreciate Roman Abramovich and his impact since buying the club, I feel his decision is out of touch with the views of those who make the club profitable, the fans.

Plus, who’s to say that Chelsea could not have escaped from this rut that they are currently in? A lot of the games that Chelsea achieved negative results in were without their inspirational captain and key centre half John Terry. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, Chelsea’s attacking trio of Oscar, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata will take time to work at their best, but they have the potential to be magnificent, and we’ve seen glimpses of their potential.

But enough about Di Matteo, regardless of how sad it is to see him go, we must look to the future. And that future looks like it will be under the management of former Valencia, Liverpool and Internazionale manager Rafael Benitez. Quite a few Chelsea fans are unhappy about this appointment, partly because of the circumstances, partly because of the fact Benitez was the Liverpool manager in many a controversial Chelsea v Liverpool match.

However, I think us Chelsea fans should look past this issue and get behind the new man. If he receives a reception which is even slightly frosty, confidence will be lost, and pressure will begin to kick in. It would be very ill advised to not give him your full backing.

Despite the controversy of the appointment, Rafael Benitez has many desirable factors about him. His record is generally excellent, having led Liverpool to their historic fifth Champions League title in 2005, and a the year before that he was the manager of the Valencia side that won the 2003/04 La Liga title, defeating the ‘’galacticos’’ of Real Madrid and Barcelona. His tactical astuteness is something to be admired too, while others say Benitez’s teams are amongst the most well-conditioned they’ve ever played against. Plus, Fernando Torres was never better than when Benitez was manager of Liverpool.

So, to Chelsea fans like myself I encourage you to yes, feel aggrieved about the sacking of Di Matteo, but please look at the merits of Benitez before you presume that he’s not the right man for the job.

Many, if not all Chelsea fans wouldn’t have expected Di Matteo to do what he did last season, so Benitez could well do something just as remarkable.

 

Written by Joshua Sodergren

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Santi Cazorla: The Great Hope for Arsenal, and the Premier League

  By O-Posts Team | November 21, 2012 - 15:20 | , , ,
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It almost sounds like a broken record, Arsene Wenger facing questions over a transfer policy that has failed to add a single trophy in the past seven years and one that sees a high profile player exit the door every summer shouting “lack of ambition” at the top of his voice.

However through overseeing the 5-2 dismantling of bitter rivals Spurs on Saturday, it became one of Wenger’s “I told you so” moments as he sometimes gets the opportunity to revel in, an afternoon to peel away from criticising Wenger’s success-compromising financial caution in order to marvel at the football his side play that every once in a while becomes irresistible.

At the heart of the scintillating performance was Santi Cazorla, a 27 year old Spanish midfielder signed from Malaga in the summer for a fee in the region of £12 million. Robin Van Persie was the ambition-seeking departure this summer, leaving for Manchester United for £24 million to the heart-break and anger of many supporters, but Wenger remained calm, taking advantage of financial uncertainty at Malaga enough to lure away Cazorla for half of the Van Persie fee. 12 games later and Cazorla is being referred to as the signing of the season, a Wenger “I told you so” moment as clear as any.

Perhaps there is even a feeling of guilt on Wenger’s behalf that he was able to steal in and prize Cazorla away for a price that Malaga coach Manuel Pelligrini describes as an “unspeakable gift”. Perhaps there is credit for Wenger in his willingness to realise the talent of a magical footballer that didn’t possess the largest of profiles in England before his remarkable impact on the Premier League.

This was a player who created 82 goal-scoring chances in Malaga’s Champions League qualifying campaign of last season, a player who was in Opta’s La Liga team of the season in the preceding campaign, yet Wenger managed to slip in unnoticed and pull off the most eye-catching of bargains.

It has been a remarkable impact, even surpassing the expectation of many aware of his talents before moving to England. Cazorla has scored 4 goals and provided a further 3 from his position at the tip of Wenger’s three man midfield, his influence underlined by four man of the match displays and a passing percentage of 89% from his 12 matches so far. For a continental player alien to a league that is notoriously difficult to settle into, Cazorla has adapted his talent with seamless immediacy to show he is worth every inch of his 50 caps for Spain, a Spain that houses a magical generation of international dominance and one that suggests peerless talent just to be a part of it.

Cazorla, like Juan Mata and David Silva who also light up the Premier League with their majestic Iberian brilliance, joins the group of Spanish exiles who have avoided either juggernaut of Real Madrid or Barcelona in La Liga’s duopoly and have been forced to move elsewhere in a search for success.

Madrid, back in 2008, did try to sign Cazorla but were blocked by Villarreal and trouble with injury in the aftermath, a factor that caused him to miss the 2010 World Cup, saw their interest in the attacking midfielder disintegrate. His integral membership of Villarreal’s qualification for the Champions League in 2010-2011 saw Malaga’s big spending capture him for £16 million and the rest is recent history.

Marcelino Garcia Toral, his manager at Recreativo de Heulva, says of Cazorla: “I can’t believe Real Madrid or Barcelona didn’t sign him. It is a real pity for Spanish football.”

Maybe, again like Silva and Mata before him, Cazorla is another suggestion that the feeling that La Liga, with its sunny climbs and haven on income tax, being a more attractive proposition in Europe than the highly billed Premier League may be already on the slide.

The demands of domestic top flight football in England have definitely proved more attractive to Cazorla however, and Wenger is reaping the profits for a fee that is becoming more unbelievable with every startling performance. One only has to glance at the fortunes of Villarreal to see his peerless influence. From Champions League qualifiers in his last season, the Yellow Submarine were relegated in their first season without him. Malaga qualified for their place amongst Europe’s elite in their only season with him, too.

It is no doubting the quality Arsenal have now at their disposal as Spain’s loss also becomes England’s gain from a league point of view, an impact of undeniable brilliance right from the off as if he’s been here all along.

It promises to be a long and fruitful future for a Cazorla-driven Arsenal and just like Saturday after Emmanuel Adebayor’s brain cells drifted off to Neverland, it promises to be extremely easy on the eye and it also promises Wenger many chances to step back and say “I told you so”.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Champions League: Borussia Dortmund is the team to look out for this season

  By O-Posts Team | November 21, 2012 - 12:24 | , , ,
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Back in the days, Dortmund was the team who feared no one. They were a complete powerhouse. Something similar to Barcelona nowadays. With the likes of Stéphane Chapuisat, Andreas Möller and Michael Zorc, the current sporting director of BVB, the team used to tear any defense apart with no hesitation.

For some reasons, Dortmund started to lose its form game by game, month by month, and unfortunately season by season. This went far more than what the fans ever thought their team would reach; missing out on the Champions League for 9 years in a row.

Nevertheless, all this have changed. Dortmund has been crowned the Bundesliga Champions for 2 years in a row now. Not only this, but demolishing a strong Bayern Munich side  5-2 in the final of the DFB Pokal in Berlin was everything they could ask for.

Dortmund developed into a team which plays brilliantly attacking and defensive wise. This all started as Jurgen Klopp took charge of the team. Taking the club to a 6th place finish in his first season, 5th place finish in his second and crowned as Champions in his 3rd and 4th says it all.

Dortmund didn’t need to invest a lot in the summer market 2 years ago. Instead, depending on talents rising from their incredible youth system, and smart transfers by the coach, they were able to go all the way from zero to hero. With an average of 22 years old team- apart from the Goalkeeper Weidenfeller- they proved that they have superb ability and talent to unleash to the world in the near future.

Been drawn in an average group last year, everybody thought that they can easily qualify over the likes of Olympiakos and an out of form Marseille. However, this was opposed by an extremely out of form BVB side who were suffering badly from the absence of Nuri Sahin. It took Dortmund around 3 months to reach their peak form once again.

Unfortunately; this was a bit late as they were ranked 4th in their group, not even participating in the Europa League.

In the following season Dortmund took a huge blow as their star player in the former season, Kagawa, had to agree on a move to Manchester United. The exquisite player Marco Reus was the solution to this problem. The best player in the Bundesliga 2011-2012; “Rolls Reus” is the complete package. He can dribble, shoot from distance, play through balls, and track back into defense. Therefore, his move to the German champions was timed perfectly to fill the gap left by the Japanese playmaker.

I would like to shed light on a few of their key players before discussing their Champions League campaign this year.

Goetze, 20 years old, is one of the world‘s best talents. Goetze is a right footed player, but he somehow manages to play with both feet. He has the ability to dribble past players easily, as his trickery and pace makes it hard for any defender to defend against him. Not to mention that he is blessed with a good eye for goal.

One of the best defenders nowadays is Mats Hummels. Barca is targeting him and ready to pay up to 30 million Euros in order to snatch him to the Camp Nou. He’s also a regular starter in the German National Team as well. He has the abilities to take penalty kicks; and doesn’t hesitate to score a goal every now and then from open play.

The clinical and lethal striker, Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker is not only prolific in front of goal, his amazing control on the ball accompanied by  some lovely technique helps him a lot in counter attacks or while facing teams which park the bus.

If I want to describe all the players, this would need an article by itself, so I’ll only be stating the names of the remaining key players; Weidenfeller, Schmelzer, Subotic, Piszeck, Gundogan, Bender, and Kuba.

One of the main reasons that pushes me to describe this team, and especially their performance on European level, is that people and media never give them the credit they deserve. Dortmund were drawn into the group of death along with 3 champions of 3 other leagues; Real Madrid, Man City and Ajax. Almost everyone thought Real Madrid will easily top the group and City will follow, leaving BVB and Ajax behind.

Dortmund started their campaign this year with a narrow late win over Ajax in Signal Iduna Park, thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s goal in the 87th minute. Dortmund didn’t put on one of their best performances in this game, missing many chances to open the scoring early on and allowing the Dutch to get through and make a few dangerous attacks. Roman Weidenfeller had to pull a few super saves in order to keep a clean sheet. However, the 3 points were everything the players needed in order to boost their confidence.

Their second game was against the English champions, “The Citizens“. In the Etihad Stadium, things looked different – Dortmund were the much, much better side. It was Joe Hart who had to put on a ‘one man team’ show to help the host keep the goal deficit as minimum as possible. If it wasn’t for Joe Hart’s saves and Dortmund’s lack of potency in attack, City would have easily been trailing by 3 or 4 goals before halftime. However, Reus was able to break the deadlock on the 61′.

While everyone thought the game is about to finish with a win for the BVB side, a penalty was awarded to the English side in the 89th minute. A controversial call over a handball by Nevan Subotic, which wouldn’t have been given by many referees, was rewarded a penalty to City which was translated into a goal by Mario Balotelli. A draw was not deserved for the Citizens as described by their Coach Mancini; it was sort of a fluke.

Gathering 4 points from the first 2 games in the UCL is such an amazing thing. Now, Dortmund had to host Real Madrid. This was the hardest test so far. Klopp was confident and so was his players. They went into the game with a mentality to win and nothing else; playing attacking football from the beginning forcing Mourinho and his boys to play on the counter.

Lewandowski was able to score the opener, but it was just a minute until Mesut Ozil was able to cut through the defense with a precise long ball which put Ronaldo alone with the goalie to score the equalizer. The Germans kept attacking, pressing, and doing all their best to get out of the game as winners. Finally, Schmelzer had scored a volley which sealed the game and gave the hosts a 2-1 win over 9 time champions, Real Madrid.

Top of the group with 7 points, Borussia Dortmund had to face Madrid in Santiago Bernabeu in a thrilling clash to decide who is the best team in this group? Madrid or BVB. BVB, armored with youth players, had to play a full 90 minutes in a stadium which not many could handle. Having to play while there are around 80 thousand fans cheering for and supporting the Spanish side is a lot to ask from a young group of players like Klopp’s side. Unsurprisingly, BVB entered the game as if they were the host team. Playing wonderful football and entertaining the spectators as if they were in Signal Iduna Park.

Taking the lead twice, yet losing it on both occasion. Credit goes to Mesut Ozil who was able to fire a well taken free kick from a tight angle into the net past Weidenfeller in the dying minutes. 2-2 was the full time score, giving the Borussians a 1 point lead over Los Blancos.

These 4 games have proven that Dortmund is not only a beast on the domestic level, but also on the international level, making them on par with Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.

All the best to the Black Yellows in their European Champions League campaign.

 

Written by Ahmad Kaddoura

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Arsenal: Should Arsene Wenger consider a change in formation?

  By O-Posts Team | November 16, 2012 - 22:19 | ,
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Amidst the poor Arsenal performances we have seen recently, there has been some suggestions that Arsenal need a change in formation and/or system. Now I am no tactical genius but I struggle to see why Arsene Wenger (while he knows far more than me) carries on using the same formation he has used and that has failed us for the best part of 4 years (since we were agonisingly close to the title, only for the whole Clichy-Birmingham mess up).

Cazorla aside, I really don’t know who our current system benefits. I know Cazorla is our best player but Wenger first switched to this system to get the best out of Cesc, while Cazorla is brilliant, he is no Cesc Fabregas. First of all is the suggestion that has been mentioned a lot in the last couple of years – playing 2 strikers.

Podolski seems like the the kind of player who would rather be making darting runs beyond and dropping off a no.9 as oppose to getting to the byline and crossing the ball, as he does in our current 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 formation.

Also, we all know that Theo Walcott wants to be played through the middle, and i just can’t see him being able to lead the line on his own. There are very few players of his physical stature who can play up top, alone and effectively. Jermain Defoe is one, but that is largely down to his naturally brilliant finishing. I think Walcott would also reap the benefits of a system that accommodated two central strikers rather than one.

Our current formation relies heavily on the the two wingers/wide forwards producing the goods. But we only have one player who is natural in that position, Gervinho, and in my opinion he just doesn’t have the composure or intelligence to be a consistent starter for us. Podolski and Walcott are strikers, Chamberlain was played in midfield in pre-season and excelled there but he hasn’t been played there once so far this term and, in a way, his development has stalled. Ramsey may work hard and help out defensively but he doesn’t offer enough offensively to permanently play there.

Wenger mentioned in the summer when Podolski and Giroud signed, that he would consider fielding 2 strikers together and that is what I would like to see. I want to see us line up in a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 formation. That way we wouldn’t have to play any unnatural wingers in wide positions and we could also use our vast midfield options (Arteta, Coquelin, Diaby, Wilshere, Cazorla, Rosicky, Chamberlain, Rosicky). Here is how I would prefer to see the team set out:

Szczesny
Sagna-Mertesacker-Vermaelen-Gibbs
Arteta
Chamberlain-Jack
Cazorla
Walcott-Giroud

 

Another option, that Wenger has rumoured to have been considering this week is playing 5 at the back to solve our defensive problems. I would like to see us, at least try out and work on, a 5-3-2/3-5-2 formation as follows:

Szczesny
Sagna-Mertesacker-Koscielny-Vermaelen-Gibbs
Arteta-Jack
Cazorla
Walcott-Giroud

 

That would accommodate all 3 of our CBs, as well as keeping the midfield trio necessary to keep the ball effectively and also playing 2 strikers, that I mentioned earlier.

All thoughts are welcome.

 

Written by Charlie Smith

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Radamel Falcao: Would a transfer to Chelsea be good for both player and club?

  By O-Posts Team | November 15, 2012 - 20:02 | , , , , ,
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For decades, supporters of Chelsea FC have been treated to watch some of the best goalscorers that British football has seen. The Shed End has gazed at the consistent finishing of club legends such as Kerry Dixon, Jimmy Greaves, all time top scorer Bobby Tambling, Didier Drogba and of course Peter Osgood the “King of Stamford Bridge”.

Currently, Fernando Torres is at the spearhead of the Blues attack supported by the playmaking gifts of Mata, Oscar and Hazard, collectively known as “MAZACAR”. In my opinion a Chelsea striker has never been supported by such vision and creativity of players behind him as Torres is at the moment. His lack of chance conversion has left Chelsea fans running out of patience with the Spanish International, and this is where Radamel Falcao comes into the equation and his scoring ratio suggests that the Colombian could answer all of Chelsea’s goalscoring problems.

Falcao lives on goals and his goalscoring record in Europe is phenomenal; 72 goals in 87 games for FC Porto, for his current club Atletico Madrid he has 46 goals in 53 games. He has twice won the Europa League being top scorer on both occasions. Falcao has also scored 7 career hattricks and all this is from a man who is only 26.

Known as “El Tigre”, for his animal-like potency in the box, Falcao is highly tipped as a future World Player of the Year winner and is considered by many as the finest number nine in Europe. Falcao exhibited his explosiveness in front of goal when he scored a hattrick, his second in successive game, to stifle his main suitors Chelsea of silverware in the Super Cup.

I feel, and I’m sure most readers would agree that now is the time for Falcao to experience Premier League and Champions League football at a great club like Chelsea. The move would benefit Falcao greatly as he would light up Premier League grounds as his hero Faustino Asprilla did for Newcastle in the mid nineties. If Falcao did join the Champions League holders and continued his fantastic goal ratio before game week six in La Liga which was was a goal every 58 minutes (better than Ronaldo or Messi in the same period of time), then his name could be said in equal status of Messi or Ronaldo. Falcao has often stated his desire to play in the Premier League and this could become a reality if Chelsea meet his £48m buyout clause in January.

Chelsea would be an ideal club for Falcao as Mata, Oscar and Hazard can provide the bullets for Falcao to fire in the goals Chelsea have lacked from their current frontman. Falcao epitomises consistent goalscoring but he will also offer strong heading ability despite not being the tallest of strikers.

Another attribute he would provide Chelsea seems quite obvious yet Torres fails to do time after time. This attribute is simply the ability to be a poacher inside the box. So many times this season we have seen Torres drift into wide positions and drop deep to the midfield area where he doesn’t look dangerous. Falcao on the other hand thrives on finding space in an often congested box and converting chances into goals.

I also think if Falcao joined Chelsea he would improve other areas of his game. When Drogba was at Chelsea he trained himself to perfect a similar free kick technique to Cristiano Ronaldo. Just last month Falcao scored his first free kick in professional football and if he joined Chelsea he could emulate the skill set by the Ivorian.

To conclude I’d say in confidence that if Falcao moved to Chelsea he would enjoy great success and increase his profile to new heights. Only last week, former Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle suggested that if Chelsea signed Falcao they would win the Premier League.

With Chelsea only three points behind the leaders at the time of writing then I’d safely say that Falcao could expect imminent silverware upon joining Chelsea.

 

Written by Daire Kilkelly

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Serie A: The Battle For This Season’s Scudetto

  By O-Posts Team | November 13, 2012 - 21:58 | , ,
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12 weeks into the Serie A campaign, we see the defending champions Juventus on top of the League table. We can also see that this season there will be 5 teams in for the fight: Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Lazio and Fiorentina.

Let’s start off with Juventus, the defending champions look like the team to beat so far this year, or do they? Juventus had their 49 undefeated game streak snapped when Inter went into Torino and took all 3 points in a 3-1 win. So are they really the team everyone thinks they are? No, Juventus are 10-1-1 but having only played 2 strong teams, Napoli which they managed to take all 3 points, and Inter – you can’t really say they are the strongest side.

With only 6 points in Champions League, Juventus can see themselves knocked out of the competition if they don’t pull up their socks. On to Inter, for me the strongest side in Serie A so far, I say this because yes they are 9-0-3, but Inter are now a better side from the beginning of the season. With all the injuries and “bad calls” you can’t really say Inter deserved to lose any game. Inter clinched a spot in the Europa League with 2 games left and are now tied for first in Group H with 10 points. If Inter stay healthy and motivated then I believe they have the strongest side and a good chance to win their 19th Scudetto.

Now on to Napoli; for me Napoli isn’t a contender for the Scudetto because they always seem to start off well, and then choke in the end. With a lot of talk in this upcoming transfer window some star players could be departing the club; Cavani and Hamsik seem to be the most talked about of leaving in January. If true, Napoli will surely go down in the standings.

Lazio, we are starting to see a very strong Lazio side, Lazio may not be a Scudetto contender yet, but in the near future they will be on top of Serie A. Lazio are starting to build a very strong side, with Klose and Hernanes in the squad, they need a couple more players to become a real power house in Serie A.

Lastly there’s Fiorentina, a real underdog for the Scudetto. With young talent on this Fiorentina side it’s no surprise they are up in the standings. Stefan Jovetic is the future of this team, along with other young players. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fiorentina do win something this year, I believe this team could potentially win Coppa Italia and even finish with a Champions League spot.

I believe this is how the top 6 will finish come the end of the season.

1. Inter Milan (19th Scudetto)
2. Fiorentina (Champions League)
3. Juventus (Champions League)
4. Lazio (Europa League)
5. Napoli (Europa League)
6. Roma (Europa League)

 

Written by Peter Lodico

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Sunderland: Worrying Times for the Black Cats’ Faithful

  By O-Posts Team | November 12, 2012 - 16:00 | , ,
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We were all so optimistic. We thought that this season would finally be the one where we kicked on and where we started to dream about Thursday nights in some exotic city in Eastern Europe.

Oh how wrong we were.

Instead were nervously looking over our shoulder, with the possibility of rainy away days in some industrial town in the championship. It’s hard supporting Sunderland. But should we really start to worry about the dreaded R word, or are we just on a dismal run of form?

The problem with the season so far is the extensive list of players under-performing. With new and exciting additions, the front quartet of Sessegnon, McClean, Johnson and Fletcher looked like they could cause problems to any back line. But it’s been far from that, with Fletcher the only player deserving praise after his five goals. McClean lacks the confidence that we saw when he burst to the scene last year, Sessegnon’s silky skills has deserted him while Johnson is yet to find his groove.

This has led to an appalling scoring record. Adam Johnson’s goal against Everton was the first goal by a Sunderland player in 444 minutes. That stretches all the way back to September. And if it wasn’t for Demba Ba (Sunderland’s joint second highest scorer) it would be a lot, lot worse.

Defensively, it could have been a lot worse. Danny Rose and Carlos Cuellar have had steady starts while O’Shea and Gardener are trying their best. But without doubt, Mingolet has been Sunderland’s player of the season so far. The Belgian stopper is the reason that the Black Cats aren’t in the relegation zone.

With one win in eighteen league games, Sunderland are in horrid relegation form. On paper we have the players, the manager and the fans but on the pitch it’s the total opposite. Players are under-performing while O’Neill seems to lack a real plan B. Far too many times this season, Sunderland are playing far too defensively. A massive shame considering the players we have up front.

So will Sunderland get relegated? No. Thankfully there are teams worse than the Black Cats and it’s only a matter of time till the attacking players start performing. But Sunderland fans should still be worried. Too many times in recent years we have been fighting it out near the bottom, and even though we have a squad capable of a top half finish, we find ourselves just above the relegation zone. Maybe that’s just the Sunderland way and it’s always going to be like that.

Optimism is such a cruel feeling.

 

Written by Craig Lishman

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Sheffield United: Wilson forced to turn to fertile crop for success

  By O-Posts Team | November 9, 2012 - 16:49 | , , ,
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Above: Sheffield United's Nick Blackman celebrates his penalty winner against Portsmouth with teammate, Matt Hill.

Above: Sheffield United’s Nick Blackman celebrates his penalty winner against Portsmouth with teammate, Matt Hill.

After losing the League One play-off final on penalties to Huddersfield, Danny Wilson didn’t have the best of summers in re-shaping his Sheffield United team for another assault on promotion.

Hitting a spot of financial difficulty, a summer of transition awaited after the Blades announced they would have to balance the books, leading to a completely different starting eleven for the opening weekend’s game with Shrewsbury with a squad formed with an average age of 22.

It is that reversion to youth that has provided one of the positive points from Sheffield United’s financial plight, with Wilson having to utilise a very prominent youth set-up that has churned out a very gifted group of players.

From the team that competed with Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup final of 2011, striker Jordan Slew now plays for Blackburn while Matt Lowton, the 23 year old right-back, was Paul Lambert’s first signing after taking over at Aston Villa. Wilson also lost Lee Williamson, the winger operating in advance of Lowton on the Blades’ right flank, as he saw his squad shorn, powerless to do anything just like witnessing his loss of Ched Evans, scorer of 35 league goals before his conviction of rape in May.

With reports of the club operating over its playing budget, Wilson was restrained in his task to form another promotion challenging squad. Replacing Lowton was Walsall’s 21 year old Darryl Westlake, whilst he signed two young strikers, Nick Blackman, 22, and Shaun Miller, 24, from Blackburn and Crewe respectively.

John Cofie, a 19 year old striker, was also brought in, this time on loan from Manchester United. Not treading too far from a new philosophy of installing a youthful, hungry make-up to his squad, Wilson promoted two 18 year old attackers Callum MacFadzean and Joe Ironside, both of whom played in that cup final loss to Ravel Morrison, Paul Pogba and co, from the academy set-up.

Adding to an already young squad that contained 21 year old Danny Philliskirk, 19 year old defender Harry McGuire and 23 year old David Mcallister and such inexperience may have made for a tricky season ahead.

A disjointed performance in the win over Shrewsbury with an 18-man squad that contained no less than seven talents from the club’s academy certainly pointed that way, but this team has seemingly grown together, and quickly, after 16 games the Blades sit in second place in League One, still unbeaten, a remarkable run form based on a strong defence that has kept 5 clean sheets in its past 6 games, and a tally of just 10 goals conceded.

This is a back four that contains Westlake and McGuire whilst behind them lies 19 year old goalkeeper George Long who possibly best illustrates Wilson’s reliance, and repayment, from young talent. Coming in for number one Mark Howard after an injury at Leyton Orient, Long has started eight straight games keeping those five clean sheets in the process as a resilient, solid outfit sit at the summit of the third tier.

It doesn’t seem to have phased Wilson’s unit that long standing members of the squad in Stephen Quinn and Nick Montgomery both departed in a summer of financially motivated upheaval.

Wilson has instilled his faith on what is turning into a very fertile youth system at Bramall Lane and he is being repaid, whilst admittedly it hasn’t been through choice, a reliance on youngsters has been refreshing in Yorkshire and it might even fire them back to the Premier League in the long-term as they show there’s plenty more from where Matt Lowton, already there and impressing with Villa, came from.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Manchester City: Mancini continues to falter on the European stage

  By O-Posts Team | November 9, 2012 - 14:52 | , ,
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On paper, it is hard to ascertain a team with the resources of Manchester City. There’s Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United. Their players attracted to being adulated the entire world around. Then it has to be Manchester City.

Manchester City has been turning around its own fortunes in the last three years. But yet when it has come to Europe, they have failed miserably. Mancini admitting that they are not ready yet for a European title seems to be a cheap shot in lowering expectations. But yet you cannot, when you boast players of the quality that currently fills the City ranks.

Telling the fans not to expect any glory in Europe just yet is merely an indicator that comes next round, we might actually be out of Europe.

So who has to be blamed for this? All eyes are on the manager now. This is not questioning the skills of Mancini, but there is no doubt he’s had his disasters in Europe, with a lot of wrongful tactics. The difference is when you play the cream of Europe and you get it wrong even for a span of fifteen minutes, you might be punished. I have seen Mancini get it wrong over and over again. From the time against Bayern last year to that crazy finale against Real to while he was managing Inter against a Liverpool side that was well on their way down.

So although with the depth Manchester City currently carries, Mancini has the opportunity to experiment and learn from the span of a Premier League season and run out Champions – it becomes a completely different ball game when the opposition teams have players as good as yours, and one breach, one mistake, one tactical fault can be the end of the things. Obviously mistakes make the man, but how many will be too many?

I have a feeling he might realize soon that there are not many room available for errors on his part as he expects the same from his players. How much ever commendable it is to accept one’s faults, ‘the fault is mine’ line that I have often heard repeatedly might run out of listeners in the City boardroom.

 

Written by Shuaib Ahmed

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