Turning the Game on Its Head...

I said at the start of the summer that this transfer window could be a groundbreaking few months..and we have not been disappointed. This summer has seen the winds of change blow over Europe, as the balance of power has shifted significantly...from one side of the city to the other.



Let's start at the top (or should that be in mid-table?), with Manchester City. The City revolution is in full swing, with Mark Hughes being given access to the limitless funds that were promised by the new owners.
What is even more poignant, is that City have actually found success. Yes, Eto'o turned them down, but City fans have found solace in the fact that Barry, Tevez, Santa Cruz and (possibly) Adebayor have all been tempted by the money....sorry, ambition of the club.
Are they doing the right thing? Well, it depends on who you are. If you are City fan, then this is the best time of your life. Your side have all the money and big ambitions that your squad will have to live up to. However, if you are a fan of one of the big 4 then your calls of foul play on the part of City will fall on deaf ears, because, frankly, it is exactly what the big 4 have done for years and years and years. However, you have to feel sorry for clubs such as Everton. Everton have been run extremely well in recent years by Bill Kenwright, and he will be bitterly disappointed that a lot of his hard work that has been done over a number of years has been dissolved in a year or so by a few rich Arabs.
Personally, I am shocked at the fact that this summer alone, City have even taken players from 2, and possibly 3 of the big 4. Tevez has already signed, with rumours around that Adebayor will be the next player to sign on at City, and those stories about John Terry to City will just not go away...

Meanwhile, thanks to the return of Perez, the biggest teams in Europe hafe suffered severely in their respective bids to sign the very best players in the world. United may have £80 million in the bank, but if there is no-one to spend the money on, then you cannot do anything. The top 4 are being comprehensively beaten in wages and transfer fees; even Manchester City are offering John Terry higher wages than Chelsea! Top players such as Ribery and Benzema are choosing Madrid over other sides because they feel that the return of the Galacticos will bring them fame, fortune, trophies...and a hell of a lot of money.

It has also been a hugely significant transfer window at home; it has been apparent that Premier League clubs are more willing to trading players with their rivals. Transfers that take place are setting in motion a chain of events whereby one transfer has indirectly caused 4-5 others. One such example is the possible transfer of Bobby Zamora from Fulham to Hull or Stoke could see Fulham launch a bid for Pompey striker (or is that lamppost?) Peter Crouch. That transfer could well see Pompey chasing a new striker, such as one of the millions in the wings at Manchester City...Crazy!

It has also been interesting to see that the majority of Premier League clubs have been chasing the same players. It is intriguing to see how certain managers have gone about their business; Harry Redknapp has continued his streak of courting players in public (that really got him far with Downing now, didn't it?), but Martin O'Neill has chosen to do his work behind closed doors, to try and get the job done without alerting his rivals. While Liverpool, Arsenal and eventually Man City went after Gareth Barry, Blues found themselves in a 3-way fight out for Oguchi Onyewu, that they somehow managed to lose, to a team who weren't even part of the 3-way fight out to start with!
Burnley, Blues and Wolves all went after Bobo Balde, with Burnley and Blues pulling out of potential deals, allowing Wolves to take Balde on trial. While Blues pulled out of that deal, they jumped in at the last to beat Wolves to the signing of Scott Dann (don't you just love it?!), at the 11th hour. Stoke, Hull and Everton all went after Michael Owen, before Manchester United won the race for his signature (no, i still can't believe it happened either).
Villa and Spurs have gone head-to-head on numerous occasions in the past, but this transfer window has brought the two head-to-head yet again, in the race to sign Fabian Delph, Stuart Downing and Tuncay.

With this transfer window, the game really has turned on its head. Apparently, Chelsea don't have ambition! It is simply ludicrous! John Terry is not impressed with his club because of the lack of summer signings, if you believe what you read in the papers. Terry was shocked that only an unknown Russian had been added to the ranks during a summer when the Premier League looks like it will be an open race next season. However, if Chelsea, the side who changed the face of our game for good, have no ambition, then I hate to think about whether Accrington Stanley have any ambition!

It has most certainly been a summer of change for clubs across Europe, and I believe that there are still shocks in store for football fans as we head towards another exciting season.

Watch this space.

Back in My Day...

The classic 4-4-2.
The forward pair who work...together.
Those were the days...
Sadly, the days of 2 strikers playing in tandem are numbered.
Gone are the days of Yorke and Cole. Shearer and Sutton are nothing but a few videos and a few records.

The explanation for the change in tendencies of football clubs is by no means straight forward. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the change in attitudes of football managers, resulting in more and more teams playing a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation.

One popular theory says simply that there aren't any strikers like that around nowadays. Some people argue that the type of striker who works for his team and his partner is nearing extinction. However, that idea can be overcome by the presence of the likes of Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Fernando Torres, to name but a few.
These strikers are good by themselves, but even more effective when placed in partnerships with other players who complement their natural ability.

However, the problem is that these players can also play so well by themselves, that managers choose to leave them alone up front. Sir Alex Ferguson often chooses to shove (quite literally) Wayne Rooney out to the left, and he has also used Tevez as the sole striker, whilst Rafa Benitez has played Torres by himself for the sole reason that he does not have another world class centre-forward to work alongside the Spaniard.

Recent examples of strike partnerships, such as McCarthy and Santa Cruz at Blackburn, and Carew and Agbonlahor at Villa have done their job when it comes to scoring goals and working together. On the flip side, these partnerships have not been as fruitful as past examples, such as Yorke and Cole, and current variations on the 4-4-2, such as the Liverpool setup where Gerrard plays in behind Fernando Torres.

Then, there is always the other theory that partnership are not needed. Many people argue that with the new breed of player, such as Ronaldo, 2 strikers are not needed. It is argued that the winger is as much a forward and an attacking threat as any possible partner for the striker. However, this idea is flawed. Back in the days of SAS and the smiling assassins, there were the likes of Ginola, Zidane and Figo who consistently found the back of the net, providing the team with yet another source of goals.

My view?
I believe that the death of the footballing partnerships can be explained in two parts.
Firstly, I believe that top clubs have adopted the 4-5-1 formation as a way of playing expansive football with players who are comfortable in possession. That, is clear enough. However, for the second part of the explanation, I need to take you back in time...

Back in time to the creation of BskyB, and the influx of money into the game. Clubs were given more money to spend, and as history shows, they spent it. They spent more money than they recouped, and even the worst businessman in the world could tell you that such a lifestyle would always end in disaster.

Disaster. Liquidation. Administration. Clubs folding.
The threat continues to linger over the heads of many clubs, and there is nothing that they can do about it. Clubs fight tooth and nail to stay in the top divisions of English football to ensure that the steady flow of money into the club continues. The pressure on football managers is so extreme that many revert into their shell, preferring negativity over an expansive, open style of play. If you look at Premier League sides, the vast majority play a 4-5-1 system with counter-attack being the order of the day. This negative style of play (and yes, before you say...it is negative) has had a direct effect on strike partnerships, with clubs preferring bulkier, stronger strikers who can lead the line, a la Drogba.

Is there anything that can be done?
I'm not so sure. If my theory is correct, then fewer and fewer partnerships will emerge from the shadows, as more and more clubs change their strategies.
Gone are the days of the smiling assassins. Now is the time for the midfielder that gives you extra.

The Kings are dead, long live the King...

Owen and out?

Michael Owen.
The athlete; the ambassador; the icon
At least, that is what his brochure says.

There are strong rumours doing the rounds that Michael Owen could be on his way to Manchester, to the red half of the city.
Shocked? Join the club.
However, the links make sense. United have their backs against the wall. They have lost Ronaldo and Tevez, and recent reports suggest that they lost out in the race to sign French wonderkid Karim Benzema.
United have lacked a real goalscoring striker since the sale of Ruud Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid. Yes, Ronaldo and co. have proved successful enough, but at the end of the day, every team could do with a greedy striker who is goin to score 20+ goals a season.
Is Owen that man? Maybe. There was a time when he was the most feared striker in the world. Sadly, those days have now passed him by, but that does not mean that Owen's career is as good as over.
Over the past couple of years, he has tried in vain to reinvigorate his playing style to suit his body. He no longer has the electric pace that we have come to associate with the England striker, but he still has that killer instinct.

Just like the Masters football advert says - class is permanent. Owen knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. He probably knows it, and how to do it, better than most strikers in the Prem nowadays.

Yes, Owen has his faults. But, at the end of the day, he is still a good striker. Maybe he is not world class anymore. Maybe.

However, he is most definitely not a has-been. I may be a romantic, believing that Fifa '98 could happen again, but that does not matter.

Here is an icon.
Here is a real striker.
Here is Michael Owen.

Come and get your very own icon, at cheap prices.
(While stocks last)