Juventus v Inter 18th April, 2009

I am happy with a 1-1 as it could have been much worse for us. We are inferior to Inter in many departments, and the screams from the bottom of the lungs of our team, for some decent creativity and distribution from midfield were deafening. Yes we were missing Momo and Marchisio, with whom we would have definitely been more solid in the middle. Tiago’s challenge was dumb, he should be fined…an especially dumb move as we had just moved to a trident in attack and really needed at least our central trio of nedved, tiago, poulsen, to stay on the field…Del piero had another very poor game, and Giovinco offered more threat than him even though he was only on the pitch for 10-15 minutes…Legro made a lovely challenge on Ibra in the first half, which deserves an honourable mention. Grygera spent the whole game persuading me that he is in fact worse than the much malligned Molinaro, who was wretched at passing but fairly solid at the back for much of the game., then just when i was writing the Czech off as the worst right back I have ever seen in Juve jersey, he scores the late equalizer…Thats the beauty of football eh!…We were outclassed on the flanks, completely, until De Ceglie and Giovinco were on the field. Nedved was poor, marchionni has the second touch of a drunk bear, and as I have said many times, surely now, must be shot. Chiellini and Buffon did well…Iaquinta fought hard…No time for Trez. A decent result, given the circumstances. Man of the match…Buffon. Diego will be perfect for us. Our team is desperate for his talents.

The Unlikely Angel

Champions League Chelsea v Juventus

 

 

 

 

I slept only 3 hours before watching this game, as here in Melbourne it was a 645am kick off. It wasn’t what I hoped for, but the performance was not exactly surprising, given our form since christmas, in which time I haven’t seen us play like a team good enough to hold onto second in Serie A, let alone progress through the champions league knockout phase…

Player Ratings:

Buffon:
Couldn’t do much about the goal. Handled everything else as is expected of a keeper of his class. 8,10
Molinaro
An embarrassment. Both for himself and for the club. I cannot remember a player who has managed to hold down a first team berth at Juve, in 18 years of supporting the club, who I despise as much as Molinaro. He can’t tackle. He has poor pace, a lack of positional intelligence. His crossing is useless. And last night, he made Kalou look world class. That tells a story in itself. And it is largely Molinaro’s fault that we were under the kosh for the entire first 15 minutes. Such is the magnitude of his ineptitude, i would rather see Chiellini on the left, Legro, Mellberg and Grygera taking up the other defensive positions. That is, of course, unless De Ceglie is fit and available. Whatever happens during the summer break, Molinaro must not only be replaced, but sold, given away on a free, or hung. 2,10

Chiellini
He clearly isn’t yet match fit. Didn’t pass well, lacked his usual ferocious pace and spirit. Improved defensively in the second period, but his distribution was shocking. A rare poor showing earns him a 6,10.

Legro
Perhaps at fault for the goal, and lost too many aerial battles to earn a decent rating. He can play better. Its strange how his form is so affected by the form of Chiellini. He appears only able to go as high in form as his central defensive partner. Still, like Giorgio, he improved after the goal, restricting Drogba and Anelka to only a couple of half chances. 6,10.

Mellberg
A galactico in comparison to his opposite number on the left flank, but still, not fast enough to repel Anelka, who several times, could have caused more damage after passing the Swede. I prefer Grygera in this position. 6,10.

Momo
Not the inspirational, NONE SHALL PASS, performance I was expecting from our prime destroyer. He tackled well, and managed to keep Lampard away from goal for most the match, which was an accomplishment of sorts. Still, his distribution, and general control of the ball were poor. Liverpool supporters will be laughing, no doubt. But he is young, and I remain hopeful that he can become one of the greatest anchormen in the world game. Not great, but near satisfactory. 6,10.

Tiago
One gorgeous through ball to DP which almost resulted in a goal. But other than that, only noteworthy for his ability to pass the ball in a straight line, which many of his team-mates failed to do. He likes to keep it simple, but its obvious to the opposition, that the ball is going through him when Momo or centre backs bring it out of defence. 6,10.

Camo
He is world class crosser of the ball, whose crossing last night was terrible. He needs replacing in the summer, more so than Nedved, because he is injured for 80% of the season. Also, behind him in the pecking order in a player who challenges Molinaro for worst player of the season, Marchionni. a disappointing 5,10.

Nedved
worked hard, passed the ball better than everyone around him bar Tiago. One decent shot near the end, his other efforts tame enough for an 8 year old disabled girl to save. Perhaps without the injuries to Camo and Tiago, we would have seen Giovinco appear. Cheeky handball was the highlight of his game for me…or rather, his chuckle after been penalized. 6,10.

Del Piero
Tidy-ish on the ball, but muscled out of everything except the one chance created by Tiago in the first half. Other than his ability to take free kicks, he was another contender, alongside Nedved, for replacement by Giovinco. The service he received wasn’t great but still, I expect more from our captain. 6,10.

Amauri
Difficult to judge as he wasn’t found often, with anything less than two or three players to beat, by his team-mates. Well marshaled by Terry and Alex, but without decent deliveries into the box, his game was stifled. 6,10

SUBS

Marchionni
Had a decent pop with his left boot which wasn’t too far off target. Put a couple of useful balls into the area, but his general play was useless. Its a danger giving him the ball when he is surrounded by opposing players, because he wants to give it straight back. Also, his passing was unforgivable. An expected 5,10.

Marchisio
While he misplaced a couple of passes, his general play was robust, assertive and reliable. I thought he offered a greater balance in midfield than the man he replaced and he can be a threat shooting from long range. Not at his best, but that is likely due to a lack of match fitness. a respectable 7,10.

Trezeguet
His first contribution was a disgusting pass to put Chelsea on the attack, but before his 6 minutes of playing time expired, he found himself reaching the ball first, on the volley, in the box, though the finish was shameful. The fact that he got into that position shows why we have missed him so dearly these last 5 months. I was just happy to see him playing. Obviously in desperate need of time to regain match sharpness, but if he remains injury free over the next two weeks, he deserves at least 45 minutes in the return leg. He never works hard, that has never been his style, but he knows where to be in the box, and is a far easier target man to find, than Amauri. An encouraging 7,10.

Conclusion

While we could have equalized, it is also true that Chelsea could and should have extended their lead. The first 15 minutes of the game must have made the hearts of every juve supporter witnessing the spectacle, sink lower than they have done for three years, such was the excitement prior to this match. We were appalling until Drogba scored, rather fortuitously, because Kalou’s pass wasn’t intended for anyone in particular, yet Chelsea deserved their lead, like they deserved their victory overall. While we managed to weather the storm, assert ourselves on the game as the game progressed, in the latter stages our passing went to the dogs, with the team unable to string more than two passes together at a time. This is not was anyone expects of Juventus. And it must be addressed before the return leg in a fortnight.

Much of the lack of fluidity of our game can be blamed on the fitness of players. With Camo, Chiellini, Tiago and Trezeguet all working towards gaining much needed match sharpness. None of them have been consistently fit for the last few months, and this shows.

Molinaro excepted, if we can gain momentum over the next few games before we face chelsea again, we will have a fighting chance of going through. Their away form in europe is not exactly impressive, though neither is our own form presently, home or away, domestically or in europe. Still, we are fortunate to be trailing by only one goal. And we remain capable of going through.

Although we were outplayed for much of the game, the result was decided by one slip-up by our central defensive pairing. On the opposite end of the pitch, Alex and Terry were almost flawless. Credit also to Lampard and Mikel, who made progress through the middle impossible for Tiago, other than on the one occasion he managed to thread through to Del Piero.

Ranieri Rating:
With the players available, he chose the strongest team. It wasn’t his fault that we started like a bunch of amateurs. That was down to the players. His forced substitutions made sense, and I was pleased that he gave Trezeguet a run-out, which could have resulted in a goal. 7,10.

---

Last edited by weedguru : Today at 06:46.

 

 

 

 

---

http://www.weedguru.com Where the stoners live…

rags to riches for i bianconeri…

It is indeed more than mere co-incidence that the form of the team has flourished as Del Piero has regained his rhythm, though there is more to the recent run of five victories than the legendary number ten managing to remind us why he was joint top scorer in arguably the most defensively tight league in europe last season.

The return of Legrotaglie alongside Chiellini in central defence has greatly increased our ability to shut out any level of opposition and should not be underestimated. His power in the air, impeccable concetration and ability to mark competently is the perfect partner for Giorgio’s superhuman abilities to blossom unhindered by constantly needing to bail his partner out of trouble. In tandem, these two are unbreakable…Also, Sissoko has been immense, ruling the midfield much like Viera used to in his prime with Arsenal. The Malian’s control and distribution is improving dramatically this season, and all that remains for the middle of the park to be complete is for the answer to the ‘Who best plays with the african Hatchetman*’ to be found. Tiago has played competently, hardly set the scene alight, but importantly, we have won when he plays. MArchisio is nearing a return to full fitness, as is Zanetti and Poulsen. As much as I am surprised to be writing this, I would hope that the Tinkerman, leaves well alone for now, and changes nothing that ain’t broke until it breaks again.

 

Without Camoranesi, Marchionni has proved useless, scoring one fortuitous goal and failing to deliver crosses into the box, which is his main skill, even to the standard of the solid yet unspectacular Grgyera. On the opposite flank however, the ageing Nedved has rolled back the years to provide energy, drive and goals. The unfortunate flipside of Nedved’s return to form is the lack of playing time for Giovinco. When I have seen the Atomic ANt play for the Italy U21s he has reminded me of Del Piero in his early years for i bianconeri. Yet Ranieri seems determined to blood him, slowly, as a more combative Nedved-esque winger. This is a waste of obvious talent, and asking too much of the youngster, defensively, is stifling the one player in our squad I see as capable, potentially, of taking over as our fantasista from Del Piero..Still, Ranieri did bring through most of the english players in the Chelsea team who have become rocks in their line-up and some for the english national team, we are climbing the Serie A table, through to the next round of the CHampions League with games to spare, missing several players through injury who, if fit, would command first team places….SO, there isn’t much to complain about really. In the middle of October I was hopeful of Ranieri losing his job. Now, in early November, I am content to see him remain at the helm. Football supporters are as fickle as 12 year old girls…

 

I adore Del Piero. And his three goals against the spanish vermin are to be celebrated long into the future. But as I am sure Il pinturricchio himself would agree, several players are responsible for helping the team climbing out of the hole we were in a fortnight back.

Juventus v Real Madrid. Player Ratings.

Manninger-
Commendable goal celebrations. Whereas his superior, Saint Buffon claws at the ball with the tenacity of a pitbull, the former Gunners reserve has a worrying tendency to punch…However, as his punches generally shift the ball to near the halfway line, on this count, I can only criticize his distribution, because obviously its harder to direct a punch than it is to catch the ball and throw it to a team-mate. Hardly at fault for the goal, but nonetheless, his performance didnt merit praise. Competent yet disconcerting: 6,10.

Legrotaglie-
Wonderful to see the christian crusader back in action. An indomitable presence in the air, solid on the deck. Maintained his marking duties quietly but comfortably. The defence, centrally speaking, looked impregnable with Legro alongside the awe inspiring Chiellini. Shame he had to leave the fray at half time; we were more suspect as soon as Mellberg replaced him. A steady 7,10.

Chiellini-
A collosus. Devastating in the tackle, often executing inch perfect lunges when any miscalculation would lead to a one on one with Manninger, which means GOAL. He grows in stature with every game and I have no doubts suggesting that he is set to become one of the finest centrebacks on this planet…How he would fare against the Venusians, is another matter…but for earthly consideration, he is the rock upon which the new Juve must be built. Impressive throughout, 9,10.

Grygera-
Lacking support from Marchionni, the czech scumbag made some useful forages forward, mainly in the first half. His positional play and tackling is acceptable, but his lack of decent distribution and pace make me feel that he must be replaced if we are to regain our place as one of europe’s greatest teams. COmpetent, though technically inept, 7,10.

Molinaro-
His crossing was wretched, tackling suspect, and lack of stele in the will palpable. Must be replaced. And soon…A typical, 4,10.

Mellberg-
Seems a shadow of his Aston Villa incarnation. Off the pace, constantly worried, essentially unfit to wear the bianconeri shirt. He didnt cost a penny, and it shows. 5,10.

Sissoko-
He is a beast. And I adore him. Every tackle he made could have resulted in serious injury for himself, his team-mates and his foes. He knows no caution. His only mode is Beserker. Cut through the Madrid attack and midfield like a chainsaw through baby flesh. Such was his desire to battle that he crunched Marchisio, who will now be out of action for four weeks. His passing is improving as is his composure, but his game is all about Seek and Destroy, not flair or creativity. As easy to pass as entering a rabbit hole covered by the hind of a ravenous grisly bear. Outstanding, 10,10. Man of the Match.

Marchisio-
slowly finding his feet in the side. Demonstrated admirable technical prowess, providing the ball from his own half which led to the delightful del piero strike for 1-0. He looks like a potent cocktail of menace and guile. Shame Sissoko mauled him…8,10.

Nedved-
Displayed admirable energy for a veteran, though its clear that his star is now fading fast. Its about time that Giovinco was given the left midfield berth. The only case for Pavel remaining there is that he is more robust than the wonderkid…But the team isnt lacking robustness, its lacking flair, which leads me to wonder why exactly Ranieri is persisting with the czech wolfman. He laid on the second goal for Amauri, but other than that, looked vibrant yet lacking ingenuity. Credit must be given for his efforts as a central midfielder after Marchisio’s unfortunate collision with Sissoko. Still, that isn’t a combination I would like to see again, so lets hope that Poulsen, Zanetti or even Tiago regains fitness soon. a nostalgic 7,10.

Marchionni-
Anonymous. Distribution poor. Should be shot. As expected, 3,10.

Salihamdzic-
Useless at this level. And in this form, I doubt he would make the Gillingham starting XI…a criminal 2,10.

Del Piero-
The juve talisman rolled back the years to score the splendid opener. His technique remains world class but his ageining legs are crying out to be replaced. Inneffectual at free kicks and corners. But for that goal, which was a scorcher, 8,10.

Amauri-
Fought hard, often appearing in his own half in order to help the midfield and defence. Deserved his goal, on workrate alone, but overall, as an attacking tooth he was more grinder than incisor. Room for improvement, 7,10.

Iaquinta-
Not long to impress, but forced Madrid to remember, at a stage when they were swarming the Juve half like locusts on crystal meth, that they had to defend. Clearly unfit, but encouraging to see him back in action because he always causes the opposition problems when he plays, and he knows where the goal is. a cameo, but still worth 7,10.

juve v sampdoria

Juventus v Sampdoria

 

Juve went into this one lacking the services of three integral parts of their first team unit. Long term absentee, Andrade, and the blossoming colossus of Chiellini watched from the stands as did the one player capable of delivering pinpoint crosses, Camorenesi. Still, despite those MIA, Ranieri was able to put out a team talented enough, at least on paper, to beat a Sampdoria side whose away form this season has been at best consistently uninspiring.

 

The first half was one way traffic as Juve exploited the gaps either side of the Sampdoria defensive trio. Nedved was causing havoc with energetic runs down the left flank, combining well with Molinaro, and the Czech wolf-man created several good opportunities for his team-mates to convert into goals. Trezeguet went close on two occasions; firstly when charging by two defenders to place a deft touch onto a pacey cross, which flashed inches wide of the post, and secondly, with a fortuitous rebound off his knee which was cleared from the line by a defender…The best chance of the half fell to Marchioni, who missed an open goal from 3 yards. His failure to capitalize on such a glorious chance to send the Stadio Olympico faithful into wild raptures was truly wretched and must not be forgiven or forgotten lightly…Despite their near total domination, it was the away Side who almost sneaked the lead seconds before the half time whistle was blown, when Maggio got his head onto a corner, which clipped the outside of the post as it trickled to safety…

 

Iaquinta entered the fray for the second period, in place of Del Piero. Ranieri perhaps thought that the easiest route to victory required Muscle over Guile. But he was wrong…Without Del Piero creating a link between the midfield and attack, Juve’s attacking options were drastically depleted. And so it was no surprise that as the match wore on, Sampdoria began to come into the game as a contender; hardly looking likely to snatch the winner, but comfortably dealing with the constant flow of high balls flung hopefully towards the towering Trezeguet and burly Iaquinta…

 

The late introduction of Palladino and Almiron did nothing to improve the situation. The highlight of the whole second half was a misplaced penalty call when Marchioni was perfectly dispossessed of the ball as he flew into the box….The match ended with a whimper. 0-0.

 

On this form, Juventus are going to struggle to hold onto third place in the table, let alone push for second spot. Talk of chasing Inter at the top is now ridiculous. Too many points have been dropped from games which any team wishing to mount a serious title challenge Must win. Sampdoria were on the rack for the first 45 minutes, but after the interval, Juve didn’t manage a single decent shot on goal.

 

So where do the problems lie, for La Vecchia Signora***

 

The injury to Andrade and failure of Criscito to quickly transform his obvious potential into current ability, has disrupted any plans of Juve forming a decisive central pairing. Legrotagllie has made the most of his chance to fill the gap left by his injured and underperforming buddies, proving unbeatable in the air and sturdy on the deck, but he ultimately lacks the cutting edge of a truly class Stopper. Alongside him, CHielini has emerged as a rough diamond. His Molotov cocktail mix of swashbuckling never say die attitude and impeccably timed tackling has been one of the few highlights of the season so far for Juventus. With the giant youngster sidelined for a further 3 weeks, Grygera seems capable of deputizing alongside Legrotagllie. At left back, Molinaro continues to show admirable attacking flair, but frailties defensively. He can cross the ball, but his tackling is weak and often mistimed. I would prefer to see Chiellini, when fit, occupying that position. Because he is more solid as a defender, and also harder for an opponent to deal with whenever he roams forward to support the attack. On the opposite flank there is a more pressing need for re-inforcements. Zebina is a wild cat, a mammoth of a man, but he isn’t good enough for Serie A. The right back slot is a natural position for Grygera who I would prefer to see there than Zebina or Birindelli, who played today. With everyone back to full fitness, a defence of Grygera, Andrade, Legrotaglie, Chiellini would be secure. Replacing Legrotaglie in that quarter with a player like Andrea Barzagli, or Olof Melberg, would make the Juve defence breachable only through fortune or World Class flair.

 

In midfield there are more pressing issues to address. Today, Ranieri deployed three wingers, Nedved, Salihamdzic and Marchioni, who were backed up by one defensive midfielder, Zanetti. It is the first selection of the Juve manager this season, which has made me start to question his tactical understanding of the game. Wingers play on the Wing. Not through the middle…Nedved remains a very useful player, but due to his age, will need replacing next season. Marchioni and Salihamzdic are yet to demonstrate why they were brought to the club. Zanetti is a Serie B version of the player Deschamps used to be when he donned the bianconeri maglia…Only the ageining Nedved and youthful but cultured, Nocerino, of the midfielders, can be said to be having a satisfactory season. The team is missing Camoronesi. He is not going to score many goals. Neither is he in possession of mesmerizing dribbling skills, but what he can do is :Pass the Ball over long distance with unerring accuracy. That skill alone creates several gilt edged chances to score, per game for his colleagues and today, with the big Two out there up front, Juve could have done with his right boot on the field…With Nedved on the left, Camo back on the right, Nocerino should take the place of Zanetti, in front of the back four, and joining him in the middle should be Tiago, or whoever comes in to take his place. The 9 million sterling acquisition from Lyon has failed to show his class over the first half of the season and as a result of that, his sustained inclusion on the Juve bankroll is now dubious…But if he is sold, then someone must be brought in to take a pop at that Attacking midfield position. I will be content if Sissokko joins the club before the January transfer window closes. He is a player of serious potential and I can see him forming a powerful central midfield pairing with Nocerino or Tiago. Every team needs a Madman who fills the opposition with fear that he might just break their legs, and he will do it with a smile on his face…Sissoko is that kind of player. And at 22 years old, he has shown signs of threatening to develop into a new, even nastier, version of Viera.

 

In attack Del Piero still has enough to offer, in terms of creativity, to warrant floating in and out of the first team. Trezeguet will score goals against any opposition, as long as he is given the Right service. As for Iaquinta, although he has done well when he has played, he lacks real quality…There is also Palladino, who has done nothing this season to make me assume he is going to amount to anything worth Juve holding onto.

 

There are less than 10 days left before the transfer window closes. Juventus want to assure themselves of third place or above. To do this they must purchase a Centre Back and a Highly Creative midfielder. If a replacement for Tiago isn’t signed, then he must be given a run of games in the first XI. Not just the odd substitute appearance. A proper chance to bed into the team and show his worth…

Buffon

Grygera, Andrade, Melberg, CHielini

Camo, Tiago, Sissoko, Nedved,

Trez, Del Piero…

That team would finish 2^nd or 3^rd…

 

After watching the sorry showing at Catania last week, I was unsurprised but still disheartened by today’s performance. Maybe I am asking for too much, but I want to see Juve get back to the top, and right now, they are looking more like a mid table team, than world beaters….As the commentator surmised the Juventus performance today, ‘they were more hopeful than clever.’

   

notes from a rum soaked England fan…

The end of the road…

I was appalled when Steve Mclaren was given the top job in the wake of our failure at the 2006 world cup tournament. Shocked even. Because he was obviously unsuited to the role…I remember his last game as Boss of Boro. A 4-0 mauling at the hands of Spanish conquistadors, Seville…It was of course a great achievement to get Boro to the final, but to see any team capitulate in such brutal fashion, in what was undoubtedly the highest ground many of the Boro players are ever to reach, was disgusting. I was very unimpressed.

As Fergie’s number two at United, Mclaren excelled, proving his worth as the Reds developed into the most powerful team in the country. But as the first team coach at Boro, he did not show the guile, character or style which is required to be successful as Top Man at any important club…Perhaps he is a world class Number Two, and a woeful Number One…Only time will tell…What is for sure, however, more-so after tonight’s pitiful showing against Croatia, is that Steve Mclaren has been, for several reasons, the worst England Manager I have had the misfortune of having to support.

It was not just the scoreline of the 2-3 home defeat suffered this evening, on our own turf, against the well organized Croatians, which sickened but didn’t surprise me, it was the performance…We gave the world football. Maintained our position for decades as one of the always decent, now and then superb, international teams, but now, 7 years into the 21s century, we are wretched…

Worse than the unforgivable failure to qualify from a group which contained only one other team who can be considered a threat to any of the greatest sides in the world, is the manner which we went down tonight. There was no passion, no grit, no pride…Those three attributes are essential for any team who want to win a match. Without them, even the most wonderful collection of players cannot perform anywhere near to finding the sum of their collected parts…

Lampard and Gerrard, at club level are quality players, now and then dipping into rich veins of form which makes them unstoppable, unplayable, and ultimately world class. Yet when they play for their country, they change into average players who, at times, would have trouble getting into the Gillingham FC starting XI…Though Beckham’s teeth are lengthening, he can still piss in a pint glass from 50 yards, and for that reason alone, he is an essential part of any plan to beat world class opposition. Yet, after the 2006 World Cup, one of the first major decisions of the then newly crowned England Manager, was to send unarguably the finest player this country has had over the last half decade or so, into exile…That didn’t make sense at the time to me…Relinquishing Beckham of his Captaincy duties and demoting him to a squad player would have been enough of a symbol to herald Mclaren’s intention of bringing in the youth to replace the Old Guard. But he went further, axing from the squad the one player from our team who was capable of consistently performing at least one essential element of the beautiful game, namely Distribution…He has no pace, little chance of successfully taking players on with the ball at his feet and the mentality of an 7 year old sweet natured townie, but Beckham’s vast repertoire and god given talent of Passing a football to any position on the pitch- often just with one touch from his blessed toes, as was seen tonight when he set up Crouchy’s strike- is simply amazing…All the greatest teams have a defensive system which combines brute strength, military organization, wise minds which can read the flow of the game for 90 minutes and Heart. To break down such formidable human barricades, a team must have a player capable of Magic or impeccable passing technique and vision. The only player we have like that is David Beckham…Though flashes reported to be Rooney’s star have been spotted, the brightness of which is said to be blinding, his position in the celestial realms as the most special player wearing an English shirt, is yet to be confirmed…I remember feeling such compassion for Beckham, when I read the story of Mclaren calling him to let him know he was out. I imagined the tears welling up inside him as his former mentor at Old Trafford informed him that not only had he lost his captain’s armband but that he was OUT THE SQUAD…At that point, I considered almost daily, for a week or two, that Mclaren should be hung, on charges of Treason…That isn’t how I feel now.

I can point the finger at the lack of opportunities afforded to young English players in the top flight of our domestic football leagues as a possible reason for the current State of Things, but that is an area which can’t, due to European law, be changed…It is easy to misjudge the quality of our football when the Premiership is one of the most lucrative footballing products on the globe. TV audiences may well prove that there is exciting, attractive football played in this country but how many of the players who regularly wow the hoardes of Premiership addicts stationed all around the planet, are English***…Other than John Terry, whose injury problems have forced him into missing large chunks of playing time over the last year, only Gerrard and Rooney could make that group, and they are both currently outshone by the likes of Berbatov, Ronaldo, Adebayor, Vidic, Robbie Keane, Ryan Nelson, Van Persie…With European Law demanding free movement of trade and services, as long as certain rules are met, it is impossible to limit the amount of foreign players in English domestic clubs. The flood of foreign football imports over the last decade has made it harder and less likely for a home grown british footballer to rise to the top and become a national hero…Financial aspects of the game have intensified to such staggering levels that Club football has overtaken the national game in this country. That is where the Money is…The Premiership is the main focus of the top players in England…Sadly, the logical reasoning points to the suggestion that English players are materialistic, money grabbing tossers, who care more for their weekly wage packet, which could finance a humble lifestyle like my own for 20 years, than they do for their nation…Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye of a mere glance. Maybe this lack of passion and pride at being English and flying the flag on a global level, is indicative of an identity crisis decaying at the very foundations of what it means to be English…

We need a new Manager. Whether Mclaren wants to leave or not is irrevelant. He should count himself mighty lucky not to be standing, right now, in front of a firing squad…Who will replace him, is more of a riddle. Because all the Top managers are currently employed elsewhere…except, the cigar smoking, silver haired Paul Newman lookalike, Marcello Lippi, and a maverick, amusingly arrogant, Portuguese Man At War named Jose Mourinho…I doubt Lippi would want the job, there is more chance he will replace Donadoni as the Italian Allenatore…As for Mourinho, he might just accept it, if offered, but his volatile, abrasive personality and style may be too much for the FA to deal with. They are Suits, who place too much emphasis in their thinking, on Image, when all that really matters is Substance…Out of the English managers, nobody seems qualified for the job. We must look further afield when deciding who we think is capable of building a team over the next couple of years which is capable of making this country proud in the 2010 world cup.

In conclusion, Mclaren, as England Manager, has been inept tactically, never quite deciding on a definite system to adopt and train into the blood of the constantly changing squad…And also horribly unable to galvanize his troops into showing even a spark of real passion when they don the England shirt and step into battle. The players must shoulder some of the blame for what has happened, and I am sure they will, but secretly in the back of their minds, perhaps some of our ‘star players’ are happy to have next summer free when they can spend some of their millions on a well earned holiday…Bastards.

For an alternative perspective on England’s embarrassing exit from the European Championships, I asked an acquaintance, known appropriately, as John the Baptist, for his views… His reply disturbed me…
‘It’s simple, dannyboy, we got kicked out by the Arabs…all politics of course
same ol story, guv…we’ll pay back those towel heads come next year…an invasion is planned…first Kuwait, then we take Iraq, from the Yankees…next we gunna take Afghanistan, and sell it off, mile by mile, to the Chinese…by then we will have amassed , by enslaving all afghans, Iraqis, Kuwaitis, into our army, a vast military machine capable of taking on Russia…with the help of the Yankees, who by then will have forgiven us for stealing Iraq from right under their noses…that is the way it is going to pan out, dannyboy and you know it deep down…’

I didn’t know it deep down, and though I admired John, in a comical way, for taking my question as an opportunity to preach from his doomsday pulpit, his total disconnection with reality was beginning to unnerve me…it was time to deliver a few lines of bewildering nonsense, then flee like a gazelle in heat, hot on the scent of an accommodating female…So I asked him to Keep Me Informed, wished him good luck in Hell then ran back to my cave.

Cagliari v Juventus 2-3

Seeing what Napoli did to Udinese today gives an idea to the kind of form Cagliari are currently experiencing. Sometimes these smaller teams, get a purple patch where all systems are Go, the team is giving more in total than the sum of it’s parts. In fact, it is vital for the lesser outfits, of which Cagliari is surely one, gets these purple patches of form if they are to survive and/or prosper in the top flight. Obviously, they are firing on all cylinders right now and would have won this game were it not for some woeful finishing and the class and magick of Santo Buffon.

Despite this Super Cagliari, we were very poor. Ranieri cannot be happy with the performances of most of the team. Other than Buffon, Andrade, Chiellini and Camo, the rest of the Juve players seemed to be lacking guile and spirit.

Criscito needs time to form a solid partnership with Andrade, but they could be rocks for us at the back. Chiellini continues to impress me more with every minute he is on the field and his never say die attitude reminds me of the endeavour and will to win of Vialli and Ravanelli. Every team needs a huge youngster, capable of making important challenges and fighting tooth and claw for every ball, in their ranks… The right back position must be sorted out soon and Zebina must be shot. He got caught out of position too many times and his reaction to being sent off was appalling.

Our midfield play, prior to the arrival of Camo, was painfully laboured and predictable. Almiron may well prove to be useful in the long run, but if he is to play alongside the workhorse Zanetti then the forwards and wingers will continue to be starved of decent service from the middle of the park. Maybe Ranieri wanted to give Tiago some time out there but with the vicious, tense nature of the game, he opted to keep Tough in midfield and stick with the dogs of war…Nedved was redundant for most of the game, not sure if he was just showing his age or was well marked by more spritely legs. Sali on the right side was useless, and let’s hope he can perform better as our right back, because Camo deserves that position on the wing. he showed today that by coming on half fit and having a hand in all three of our goals. He is growing on me as a footballer despite my anger at several of the comments he has made over the last few years. His delivery of the ball is the best we currently have available and I am sure Trezeguet will be hoping more than anyone that the Argie/Italian regains full fitness and his berth on the right flank as soon as possible.

Up front we were lacking energy and movement. Del Piero still has the skill, but he seemed to be several yards of the pace of every other player on the pitch today. Maybe he just needs time to regain match fitness??? Trezegol got his goal yes, but otherwise was a ghost. I can’t blame him for that, because as a target man constantly running through the middle he needs the ball put into the right areas and today that just didn’t happen, at least not until Camo turned up.

I didn’t understand Ranieri’s decision to haul off Criscito for Legro…The Camo swap for Sali was required and actually turned the game in our favour. Just a shame that Nocerino didn’t arrive on the scene earlier. I would like to see him start alongside Almiron…

Ultimately, however badly we played, we won the game and picked up 3 points away from home against a team who were ALL fired up and gunning for glory. Three games, three victories. can’t complain about that kinda start to the season, but neither can we get too carried away.

Man of the Match for me has to be Chiellini. he has technique, passion, and the volatility of a tiger shark.

Juve return to serie A (5-1 vs Livorno)

It was a great start to the season for La Vecchia Signora but it is far too early to be altering realistic expectations of champions league qualification into Scudetto dreams.
Livorno were terrible, lacking bite in the final third and a defender capable of tracking Trezeguet. 

Iaquinta, despite scoring two goals on his full debut, is irritating. His character is snake-like and for me, as a Juve supporter of 12 years, he is not the kind of player I see as worthy of the shirt. I am sure he will score goals, but he isn’t world class as a footballer or a man. He can make things happen and he does work like a Trojan, but still, he lacks real quality and is a worse diver than super Pippo Inzaghi. I reckon even Inzaghi would have held his hands up and smiled after that second goal which Nedved fired with amazing accuracy off Iaquinta’s legs…But not Iaquinta, who held his hand high in the air as if to thank the Gods for allowing him to produce a moment of such sublime beauty.

Still, 5-1 is a great result. And there are definite reasons to be cheerful…

Chiellini is looking incredible and I am extremely happy that we didn’t sell him. Not only is he uncompromising as a defender but his positioning is competent and he isn’t afraid or lacking the skill to support Nedved up the left flank. In defence, Andrade is looking more comfortable and Criscito, playing next to him in the centre, appears to have considerable potential. With Camoneresi likely to assume the right wing position, perhaps Salihamdzic is best deployed at right back where he looked solid if unspectacular…But with Camoneresi returning to first team action soon, will that mean that Nocerino has to make way??? I hope not, because every team needs a Beast, and Nocerino seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve as well as the obvious tenacity which has helped shape his promising reputation as a cultured hack…

Almiron is finding his feet in the middle and his play and physique, does seem reminiscent of his countryman Veron. While Zanetti was and will always be very tidy, it can not be long before the out of sorts Tiago is bedded into that central position alongside Almiron. We paid a fair amount of money for the Portuguese midfielder and he has proved in the past that he is quality. Just taking time to adjust to the Italian atmosphere.

Nedved continues to impress with boundless energy and astute use of the ball. If this is his last season, we all know he is going to give his all in every match.

Up front, I am so glad that Trezeguet stayed, because he is a World Beater in front of goal. A hatrick on his return to the top flight justifies whatever money was spent to keep him and if he stays fit, he will definitely be a contender for capocannieri. Del Piero still has the flair to prove a thorn in the side of anyone we face, and only his fitness can be of concern. I would say it is in attack where we are lacking depth…Because without Trezeguet and Del Piero we look feeble…Why the hell didn’t we go for Huntellar instead of Iaquinta????? Palladino is pretty, but well off the standard required to be a force at this level.

We do lack a major midfield creative force, but at the same time the Nedved, Almiron, Zanetti (Tiago), Nocerino mix is industrious enough to create chances for the forwards. Defence will be fine and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chiellini and/or Criscito breaking into the Azzurri squad at some point over the coming season.

All in all, a commendable start against a very weak side.

Champions league: Lille v Manchester United

Bad pitch. Hard and balding.

Van De Sar

Neville Vidic Ferdinand Evra

Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs

Larson, Rooney

1T:

4- Neville chopped maliciously. YELLOW Fauverguie…

Vidic firm in the challenge. Impressive strength.

12– Scholes takes down a frog with a crunching two footed lunge…no booking.

Impotent possession from Lille.

15- EVRA Yellow. For losing possession then slashing at the right calf of the luckless Debauchy with a switchblade he had stashed in his jockstrap..

16- Ronaldo fortunate with ricochet, almost twists his way into a shooting position in the box..

Crowd trouble. Police in. United fans.. Batons cracking jaws!!

20-Scholes finds Rooney in the 18 yard area who turns and shoots but hits the ball well over the target…he was been ‘muscled’ to the floor as he shot. Rooney lively.

Evra cross finds Rooney but the striker’s first time shot is mis-hit across the box…

22- Giggs corner>>Silva the Lille keeper, flaps his arms like a butterfly’s wings… but Lille get away with it..

Game suddenly open…waves of United energy flowing towards the Lille goal…

Lille dowse the flickering flames with another bout of impotent, uninspiring possession.

Ronaldo must have forgotten his box of tricks/.

Nicknamed ‘the cleaner’…Lille defensive midfielder, Makoun…

Clever Rooney flicks a ball into the path of strike partner, Larson who wins a corner…

25-corner kick wasted by Giggs…

Rooney dropping deeper into midfield to get involved more in the play…

27- Evra hamstrung by Debauchy…YELLOW (merited, even though this was a revenge attack for Evra’s earlier slash and run routine)

Lille manager Claude Puel looks on with fierce concern.

Vidic grabs Odemwingie…The Lille player needlessly performs an imitation with his hands of a booking…the ref duly obliges YELLOW…Giggsy not happy with the sign language.

Neville sorts out brief moment of danger in box, heading coolly back to van de SAR.

Lille in the ascendancy.

Ronaldo down on the deck after head-butt from behind…there-after he is booed by the fans every time he touches the ball. I don’t like him as a person but on this occasion he had every reason to show a slight touch of irritation and pain given the skull to skull confrontation with his marker…

So far the French have made even Ronaldo seem British in terms of sportsmanship..

34- Evra floored whilst in full flight but ref adjudged the left back to have lost control of the ball before the scissor kick halted his progress by skinning his thighs///

38-Evra concedes a corner through heading a free kick away from his goal.

41– Rooney into the box and heading towards the 6 yard box, he finds Larson whose shot is blocked…ball falls to Ronaldo looking to clean up but his effort also is cleared and the move breaks down…

45- Boomer finds space to get a shot away from 25 yards out, left boot, just past the post…

HT

Both teams have shown attacking intent. Possession of the ball has mainly been at the feet of
Lille but they are less toothsome in attack than their British opponents, United, who have come closest to opening the scoring. Resolute defending from both rearguards is proving the main obstacle to goals and entertainment for the neutral. Though, as a fan who can appreciate Cannavarro viciously brining a player to the floor then emerging from the battle with the ball at his feet and a mischievous grin on his choirboy face, I have been impressed not only with Vidic for United, but also by the central pairing at the back for Lille. Makoun The Cleaner is keeping his home turf relatively spic and span…But with Rooney around, all the efforts geared towards cleanliness could count for nothing. Giggsy has been anonymous. Ronaldo disappointing. Scholes and Carrick too busy blocking the powerful running of the Lille midfield. Neville Mr. dependable…A game depressingly devoid of shots and goalmouth action. Likeliest to break the deadlock??? Undoubtedly Wayne Rooney: Sharp as the teeth of a sabre tooth tiger. With comparable aggression.

2t

49-Ferdinand is thankfully strong enough to steal the ball from Odemwingie, who had raced into the area in an attempt to latch onto a sneaky but effective through ball.

51- Rooney skips past two tackles, drives himself and the ball into the box, shimmies past another player then chips a pass to Giggs at the far post who is inches away from connecting…Wicked Wayne.

54- Rooney puts Ronaldo through on goal. The Portuguese man of war skins the defender and shoots..but his drive is saved; the rebound is collected by Ronaldo who pushed the ball back to Rooney whose shot is unworthy of such a divine boot… 

55-Vidic crumples Odemwingie…subsequent free kick>> weak header easily saved by Van De Sar…

57- Cadabye on for Fauvergue…SUB…(2 defensive midfielders, 3 offensive mid, 2 attackers).

58-Odemwingie puts through Boomer, who steadies himself then tries to poke the ball past Van De Sar who deflects the shot for a corner with his feet. Class save.

59- Vidic lost his footing…boomer hits it wide…Odemwingie had taken a terrible dive prior to the chance.

60- Makoun drive from 20 yards blocked,.

62- Tafferau races down the left wing, crosses…Odemwingie heads home, GOAL disallowed!!! Infringement was pushing Vidic…dubious decision, especially bearing in mind he is a dwarf compared to the Croatian stopper…

Lille turning the screw.

67- Saha on for Ronaldo. SUB.

68- Dummy by Giggs puts Saha in on goal; his shot is well saved, too central.

Dejected Ronaldo, tears streaming down his immaculate face, throws his boot into the ground.

69- Odemwingie cuts in and tries to bend one round the far post…2 yards wide…

Flowing Rooney inspired move results in Larson chipping a left foot shot towards the unguarded top corner, which drifts just over the bar..

75- Ausel on for Odemwingie… SUB

81- Chance at near post spurned by Asserl after pacey cross opened up the space…

83- Giggsy takes free kick quickly. Scores!! 0-1 GOALLL…the welsh-man even took me by surprise, yellow for Silva for reluctance to accept the goal…legitimate and cunning by Rooney, who played a part in the disguise and Giggsy who struck the ball!…Silva was organizing the wall when the ball flew into the net!!!!

84-Lille players coming off the field…they can’t accept the goal. Ref stopping his watch. Debate on sidelines…Ferguson and Quieroz involved but only to wave their players back onto the pitch, awat from the trouble… Neville had been the first United player to remonstrate with the defiant Lille crowd of players and staff…

86- play resumes>??? Indeed it does…to choruses of sour boos from the crowd.

Neville getting pelted with plastic bottles and freshly laid dog shit… Unfazed the proud and some would say stupid Englishman walks a manly stride to kick the rubbish away and gets on with it.

90- 3 mins of stoppage time to be played.

93– Scholes for O Shea SUB

94= Full time. Lille 0-1 Manchester United

Hardly a spectacle of foot-balling brilliance- as is intended by the doctrine of the Champions league- produced by some of Europe’s most talented players, the match was instead a sluggish, niggly performance bereft of real quality and, desired mainly on the natural supporter’s part, panache. On the night it was accuracy and speed of thought which won the game. The decision of Giggs to not only take the free kick with the haste of a man destined for the gallows at dawn, but also his match winning maneuver was coated in a layer of unerring precision.
Lille’s reaction to the goal was despicable. Brazen petulance of this nature by coaching staff and players alike is unprecedented behaviour at this level of the game and as Ferguson remarked after final whistle ‘never seen that..a disgrace is what I have seen tonight..thats not football..it is intimidation to the referee…UEFA will come down strongly, you cant tolerate that…’

Replays show the abortively attempted Lille player walk-off was instigated by a Lille coach who after receiving the ball on the touchlines, picked it up, held it tight to his chest then beckoned his players to leave the field…

‘ive got the ball ad nobody is playing anymore’ is what, through studying the replay and employing lip-reading skills that I developed in ‘Nam, I concluded the Lille coach had said during the very public display of French dishonour.

I am sure that Lille will feel very hard done by, especially given the goal they had disallowed. But replays of the incident have convinced me that there was a push, albeit carrying the force of a rat’s fist striking a hippo’s rear, and with definite contact which could well have contributed to Vidic’s dive into the turf prior to Odemwingie heading the ball home, the referee was justified in ruling the goal invalid.

A great result for United. Deserved, perhaps, on endeavour but the nature of victory and Lille’s inability to act gentlemenly when staring defeat in the face, will be the most talked about aspects of this unintriguing anglo-gallic encounter.

MOM: Makoun. A fearless, fierce and highly competent component of the Lille defensive shield. Unlike his team-mates he emerges from this indecorous encounter with his pride intact.

Makoun…The CLeaner.

The White Pele

 

 

Explosive finishing, world class vision, bewildering ball control and an unquenchable thirst for victory: Wayne Rooney is special. More special in fact than any other British player these eyes of mine have had the pleasure of seeing play the beautiful game.

After a period of relative anonymity (10h 37mins without scoring in the league) the young Manchester United forward announced his return to form last Saturday evening in the FA Cup encounter with Portsmouth. Of the two goals Rooney plundered it was the second strike which illustrated exactly why I rate him so highly.

The true greats see the flow of the game much quicker and easier than their inferiors. They know instinctively where the goal is and need only a sniff of a chance to attempt the outrageous. Eric Cantona, Paulo Di Canio, Gianfranco Zola; all amazing players but sadly, from a patriotic perspective, none are British. But now there is Rooney: a gritty young British lad who displays this magical connection with the essence of the game that only the true geniuses possess. His second goal against Portsmouth was magnificent. Instinct and god given talent combined to produce a few seconds of pure brilliance. 30 yards from goal, taking a touch to bring a pass under control, he spotted James a few yards off his line. Without looking up, Rooney moved the ball into the firing line then unleashed a driven chip which floated perfectly into the top corner of the net. It was wonderful to watch and added some long overdue assurance to my suggestion that Wayne Rooney is destined to be one of the best footballers of all time.

Spending his early days developing  his now trademark robustness and red hot competitive streak in the dog eat dog trenches of a tough council estate situated on the outskirts of Liverpool, Rooney’s precocious ability was noticed by an Everton scout when he was only 9 years old. In his last season for the local junior team, Walton FC, he scored a staggering 99 goals. Progression through the ranks at the Everton Academy came swiftly. Having played for the U19 team at 15 years old it was no surprise to those following his divine steps when he went on to make his first team debut at the tender age of 16 in late 2002. Early in the next year he received his first international cap when representing
England in the February 2003 home defeat to the fearsome Australians. Continued success in and around the Everton first team followed, which in turn attracted interest from a number of bigger clubs. After Rooney’s relationship with the Everton supporters became fractured amid attempts by Newcastle to sign him, Alex Ferguson stepped in with a 25m bid which captured the teenager’s signature in August 2004.

Since arriving at Old Trafford and falling under the steely gaze of Ferguson, Rooney has matured both on and off the field of play. But this steady progress was rudely stunted by the metatarsal injury, sustained in a league encounter with Chelsea, which not only ruined our country’s chances and hopes of performing miracles at last year’s World Cup, but also blighted Rooney’s form for the first half of this current premiership campaign.

The boisterous Manchester United front man may now- at this vital stage of the season- be entering a period when his mind, heart and body are gruffly synchronized. And with his team well positioned in the Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League, Rooney could well be the dynamo behind a devastating triple success.

After completing the deal to bring Rooney to Old Trafford in 2004, Ferguson said :“I think we have got the best young player this country has seen in the past 30 years“. Two and a half years on and only the criminally insane could disagree.