It used to be a joke that you couldn’t name any. Despite the country having a somewhat modest population the country had an unfair reputation of not producing many famous sons or daughters. As we enter the 2nd decade of the 21st century this could all be about to change.
On Paper
As it stands Belgium have, what appears to be, a very competitive first XI on paper. For one reason or another things haven’t clicked yet and the squad are producing mediocre results, particularly on foreign soil.
That’s not to say the home form has been particularly outstanding either, the only standout result in recent years (in competitive fixtures) is a two nil win against Turkey. Defeats against Bosnia and Herzegovina, tame performances against Germany and Spain and sharing 8 goals with Austria is not really the ideal platform to big up a national football team.
The Rote Teufel do have something on a scale that many other nations around Europe cannot boast, and that’s players under the age of 25 playing in the upper echelons of the elite European leagues.
The Future
I’m hardly the first to bandy on about this subject, it was only the other day that I saw such a discussion an internet message board, but this is how I see the Rode Duivels lining up in the years to come. It’s only when you put it down on paper you realise the stacks of potential to hand:
Goalkeepers (Starter in bold)
Simon Mignolet – Sunderland - 22
The big keeper is currently at Sunderland. Although currently playing second fiddle to Craig Gordon, on the occasions he has been called to the fore-front he’s excelled well beyond his 22 years.
Defenders
Sebastian Pocognoli – Standard Liege - 23
He doesn’t sound Belgian but he’s as Belgian as they come. Born in the country to parents of Italian stock it’s hard to believe this left back is only 23. He’s been around for what seems an eternity but is surely set for a move to a bigger stage.
Toby Alderweireld – Ajax - 21
The Ajax defender is only 21. He can play anywhere across the back line but in this hypothetical team of the futre he’s going to slot in at right back.
Vincent Kompany – Manchester City – 24 - Captain
If you have read my blog before you’ll know I already tout Kompany as being of the world-class ilk, or being very close to it. I believe world-class to be the best in the world at that current position and on current form I wouldn’t replace Kompany with any other.
Thomas Vermaelen - Arsenal - 25
The big Arsenal centre back shouldn't need any introduction at this stage. If Kompany is the brains then Thomas is the brawn.
Nicolas Lombaerts - Zenit - 25
The left sided defender offers excellent cover at either centre back or left back. He's just signed a bumper 4 year deal with Zenit so he should be staying in St Petersburg for the foreseable future.
Dedryck Boyata – Manchester City – 20
Highly rated centre back that rose to fame for his heroic performance when bumped up from the youth team during City’s defensive crisis last season. Under Kompany’s tutorship and guidance at Manchester City Boyata has all the foundations in place to develop his game to the next stage.
Midfielders:
Jan Vertonghen – Ajax – 23
Seemingly on his was to join Arsenal in the future I’ve bumped the left footed centre back into a midfield anchor role that he occasionally finds himself playing at Ajax.
Steven Defour – Standard Liege – 22
Apparently a marked man by Manchester United, and if the transfer rumour columns are to believed it’s a question of when rather than if his big money move will take place. If Vertonghen is the brawn to the midfield 3 then Defour is the brains.
Marouane Fellaini – Everton – 23
Again it’s hard to believe Fellaini is 23. Already I have had to remind myself that this is a Belgian 23 and not a 23 of a nation with questionable passport and birth certificate methods. Fellanini is much more than just an aerial threat, he uses the ball well and retains it brilliantly.
Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe – Club Brugge – 21
Some might consider the defensive midfielder a flop after his year at Hamburg but he's still only 21 and has all the potential required to play at a higher level.
Jonathan Legear – Anderlecht – 23
The pacey winger has been getting rave reviews recently for his performances with Anderlecht. Pretty much nailed on to move on to either Germany or England if his form continue into the summer.
Axel Witsel – Standard Liege – 22
Although not living up to his early promise, he's still young with his best years ahead of him. Potentially a dependable squad player who would offer something different from the bench.
Strikers
Eden Hazard - Lille - 20
Everybody knows about Hazard by now, aparently soon to be another Belgian Gooner. Although he plays in a more orthodox midfield role for Lille I'd have him as one of the wide forwards in a 4-3-3 formation in this squad.
Romelu Lukaku - Anderlecht - 17
The top teenage talent in Europe at this moment in time appears to be set to join Manchester City in the summer. He's going to have the 'New Drogba' tagline droped around him for the next 10 years of his career. The big question at this stage is, can he live up to the hype?
Moussa Dembélé - Fulham - 23
He's made a good start in his Fulham career despite injuries. He's already impressed many with his performances and if Fulham should wish to cash in there's potentially already a long line of potential suitors.
2016
The European Championships in 2016 come at a good time for Belgium in more than one way. Firstly, the tournament will be expanded to 24 teams – so expect Belgium to qualify with relative ease. Secondly it’s held in France, Belgium’s back yard – so expect a sizeable contingent of Belgian fans to cheer the team on. Lastly, of the squad listed above, Kompany will be the oldest at only 29.
They may not necessarily win the tournament but they’ve got a far better chance than their provisional odds of 150/1 suggest.
Experience
Although this squad has bags of youth it’s easy to dismiss any aspirations to falter due to a lack of experience. Unfortunately this age-old excuse doesn’t hold up in this case. It’s not unfeasible that 5 or more of the squad will have tasted Europa league or Champions league success by this time as they’re already at clubs challenging or on the brink of joining teams with realistic views of competing. The bulk of the first XI will have also played in a top flight league for the majority of their senior careers by this point too.
Experience doesn’t necessarily equal age as many football fans equate it to.
The Coach
One thing Belgium does desperately need is a manager that can not only guide these prodigious talents and nurture them into a group of winners but somebody that commands the respect of what will be a squad of multi-millionaires that will have undoubtedly won more as individuals than any Belgian coach that leads them.
If they get the right man, Belgium could have many famous sons come 2016.
Thursday 27 January 2011
Monday 24 January 2011
Villa vs City: Reaction
Performance
Playing so well and still tasting defeat is always a bitter pill to swallow. I’d argue that our performance on Saturday evening was better than the one that recently saw us win handsomely against the same opposition by four goals to nil.
In many ways it was reminiscent of watching Arsenal. Crisp passing in the final 3rd of the pitch without it actually going anywhere. There was a real hesitancy to shoot when the opportunity presented itself. I wish somebody would sit down and take the effort to work out how many goals are a result of a tame shot that is either deflected directly in or the deflection falls kindly to somebody in space closer to goal – see Villa’s goal as a prime example of this. Mancini isn’t daft and he saw the same game as everybody else. I hope that’s one thing he drills into the squad this week is that we have to sometimes force the issue instead of taking a pass or touch too many.
Bent
In a previous article in the build up to the game I simply put ‘will score’, unfortunately this proved true, although the goals was easily preventable. Unlike just about everybody else I'm not laying the blame with Hart. As far as I’m concerned Hart did everything that could be asked of him. He got a strong hand to the ball and pushed it away from the six yard box. Bent, however, was much quicker to react than Kolarov (who, in my opinion, had his best game in a City shirt yet) and finished with aplomb.
Dunne
Dunne, along with Collins, were my man of the match. Both were absolutely stellar in an otherwise ordinary Villa team and kept us at bay for the majority of the game. I’d like to have seen more balls whipped into the box in the final 3rd though, instead of trying to walk it in as that was one area I thought we could have really hurt Villa; especially with Yaya and Barry running from deep as Dzeko’s aerial prowess showed glimpses of causing Villa trouble. Alas, Johnson was shown onto his right all night though, Villa had his number.
Dzeko
I was impressed by Edin once again and I’m confident that he’ll have at least one goal to his name before the 12th of February. If Cuellar had not been playing at right back I think he’d have taken his chance at the far post against a right back of lesser aerial and physical ability. Alas, it was not too be. He’s still a couple of yards off full match fitness which is evident in his acceleration, hopefully with another weeks training under his bet he should be well up-to-speed come the game against Notts County on Sunday.
Frustratingly his partnership with Tevez seems well off the boil, far too often it was Dzeko who found himself in the channels when it should have been Tevez making that run. It does make much more sense for Tevez trying to pick Dzeko out with a cross than the other way round but continually that’s where Dzeko found himself.
The Ref
The age-old barometer of whether or not a referee has had a game or not is simple; if you’ve mentioned his name throughout the game he’s had a bad one, if you haven’t he’s done well. I didn’t mention Howard Webb’s name once during the game and that’s a good sign as I see it. I can’t remember any incidents of note but Webb appeared to keep the game flowing and didn’t create any talking points of note.
ESPN
Being in the UK I watched the match on ESPN, paying an extra subscription for the privilege. There’s times I wish I didn’t as their coverage is beyond appalling. Without stepping into the remits of libel Chris Waddell sounded intoxicated. I hope he was, as it would go someway to explain his unusual commentary, the best of which was his suggestion to keep the full backs in our own half whilst chasing a goal.
Another thing that really irks me is why the production editor at ESPN thinks it’s appropriate to switch up the volume of opposition fans singing crude songs that invariably contain an amount of profanity (which is obviously the norm) but why does this individual insist on doing this?
I’ve watched every televised game this season on ESPN and there’s only three occasions I can recall this happening, and on each occasion the songs have been aimed at Manchester City. I hope OFCOM review this and take appropriate action, I don’t appreciate paying for a television channel only for a mong that resides in the Kent that wears a Salford Reds top and an ESPN gimp mask to ‘pump up the volume’ at every opportunity to wind up those viewing at home whilst screaming “I’m beeeingg pawper nawwwty Citeh! United, United, United!”.
The Future
The next two games will shape the rest of our season, or could at least lead to the season’s final targets being set. Should we pick up maximum points away to Birmingham and then follow that up at home against West Brom we going into the Derby with an outside shot of still being able to challenge for the title. Less than 6 points and I think the title is beyond us but we then have to consolidate an ensure we keep a significant gap between ourselves Chelsea and Spurs.
Hopefully things will go our way tonight and Bolton will get back on track with a result of some kind against a Lampard-less Chelsea at the Reebok. Should that happen we have a good a chance as we’re ever likely to get to finish in the top 3 of the league and guarantee ourselves a spot in next years Champion’s League group stage.
De Terriër
De Jong
I am of the belief that there is not single player currently in the Manchester City squad that is of more importance that this man. Given the way he’s used sparingly in cup competitions or when he’s close to picking up a suspension for yellow cards I think Mancini agrees!
This is quite a bold statement given that De Jong’s role in the team can polarise opinion even amongst fellow City fans (should such a defensive player still be on the pitch when we’re chasing a goal was one such comment the ill informed Chris Waddle threw in his direction).
Had Mr Waddle watched City with any intensive purpose this season (or indeed, during our defeat to Villa) he would have realised that De Jong is much more than just a ball winning midfielder, he’s the anchor that keeps some form of semblance and structure to our midfield. This is a man that has much more in his locker than winning the ball and in this man’s opinion is only bested by Silva and Tevez in his ability to retain it.
De Voorbijganger
Due to the position De Jong plays in the City midfield it’s easy to think of him as just a tackler, somebody to ruffle to the feathers of the opposition, somebody to get the ball back and quickly make a 5 yard pass to somebody more comfortable in possession.
That’s quite a stereotypical view of defensive midfielders in general though and is far removed from the truth in the De Jong. For all his snarling, bone-crunching tackling and aggression there’s something much more to De Jong’s game that isn’t picked up on in the media and it’s this weapon in his armoury that makes him such a vital cog in the City machine.
De Jong has a wonderful range of passing, he isn’t just a player that gives the short easy ball but is quite comfortable at switching the ball from flank to flank, playing the side rule ball to slip in the overlapping full back and having as close to humanely possibly to 100% pass completion ratio in the 15 yard pass to David Silva.
De Misdadiger
As De Jong is one of my favourite players, I find it quite annoying that De Jong is lucked upon as a violent thug. Sure, he has characteristics that could make him a thug (short, stocky, skin, head, Dutch – he’s sounding like the medical dictionary definition of somebody with short-man syndrome) but that’s just not the case. It’s obvious, in my eyes, that De Jong loves playing football, he always plays with a smile and you’re more likely to find him playing peace maker than agitator.
His tackle on Ben Arfa earlier this season caused much controversy, but it was obviously unintended. Not even a yellow card was produced and sitting in the 1st tier of the East Stand there was debate at the time as to whether or not it was even a free-kick! If anything the only thing De Jong can be found guilty of is over-enthusiasm rather than anything sinister. He is the benchmark for how to channel aggression in all the right ways in my mind.
It’s obviously sad that such a talented player is missing for the best part of the whole season, however I’m still very much of the opinion that it wasn’t De Jong’s tackle that caused Ben Arfa’s injury, it was Ben Arfa’s hesitance to challenge for the ball that caused Ben Arfa’s injury.
De Doel
When De Jong finally does score for City I hope it’s a home game. If it’s at CoMS that his goal eventually comes then the roof will come off. He’s come pretty close in recent weeks to breaking his duck; firstly the 1 on 1 chance that was spurned against Leicester in the cup and then the 25 yard shot against Villa that was somehow deflected onto the post.
Our stocky midfield dynamo will score soon, and when he does it’s likely to set a new benchmark on the decibel counter.
De Kapitein
In my opinion Carlos Tevez should not be captain of Manchester City. For all the traits Carlos does have that would other wise make him an enamoured leader, speaking English doesn’t appear to be one of them. Communication is the pivotal attribute that’s needed to be an effective leader and I’m not sure Carlos can communicate effectively if at all with the majority of his colleagues.
If we remove Carlos from the captaincy that only leaves two (three at a push) candidates in my eyes. The ‘push’ is actually the most obvious in many peoples views and that’s Kolo Toure. Toure is not an option for me, if Mancini strips Tevez of the captaincy and gives it back to Kolo then that’s a major step back, it also means he’s hamstringing himself by having to play a centre half that was has had a major resurgence in form after losing the additional pressures of that accompany the role.
Kompany is real candidate #1. Probably the most intelligent, articulate and respected member of the City dressing room (it’s hard for anybody to say a bad word about something that spends their free time playing Pro Evo and Football Manager though) many have already touted Kompany as captain of the future. I don’t agree with that, Kompany should be captain of the here and now. I wonder if Clark Carlisle would still feel quite intelligent after a game of scrabble with our Vincent? I’ve always been a lateral thinker, I don’t just see Vincent as a future captain, that’s the obvious, I think there’s a real chance Kompany could be manager of our club in the future if he so wishes.
De Jong is candidate #2. If Tevez does indeed leave in the summer as many expect; then these are the two players Mancini needs to deliberate between when deciding who is the captain for next year’s campaign. Regardless of which one of the two he chooses, I think we’re in good hands.
Friday 21 January 2011
Midnight in the Garden of Edin
Edin Džeko. City’s new Bosnian hitman (can you apply such a nickname to a man from the Balkans without causing eyebrows being raised?) Previously a laughing stock at Željezničar in Bosnia (a board member declared they had won the lottery when selling him for €25,000), then a laughing stock at Teplice and then during his loan spell at Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic. 6 years ago he cost €25,000. Manchester City have recently paid in the region of €30,600,000 for his services from Wolfsburg.
Has a players stock risen quite as sharply as this young Bosnians in footballing history?
Bambi on Ice
A rough translation of Edin’s debut performance for Teplice, was he really that bad? Surely the press would not write off a young player quite so soon into his new career in a new country, especially given the paltry transfer fee? Well, they did.
One man didn’t. Step forward Jiri Plišek. This man was Edin’s coach and mentor for Željezničar and upon taking The Teplice job made Džeko his first signing. At this time he was seen as a midfield anchor man, played in a position more akin to stopping goals than scoring them. It’s fair to say that the first months in Edin’s Teplice career were an unmitigated disaster. He had difficulty settling in at his new club and many said he lacked the technical ability to play as a ball winning midfielder.
As Edin lost his place in the Teplice starting line up, Ústí nad Labem made an ambitious approach to bring him in on loan. This was a no brainer as Plišek saw it. Not only did it allow Edin to keep his match fitness but it also gave him the opportunity to build up his confidence at a lower grade of football in the Druha liga, the 2nd tier in the Czech Republic.
Bosnian Coal
The transition to Ústí nad Labem wasn’t an immediate success, although Edin was now played as an out and out striker, he did not quite have his goal scoring touch. Chances were missed but things were looking up. A good striker scores chances, but that’s the easy part of his job. Getting into the positions is the hard part and that’s what Edin was now doing with ease.
His height, his ever increasing technical ability, acceleration and increasing upper body strength soon made Edin a force to be reckoned with, much in the same way Emile Heskey is viewed in England. The goals were not flowing, in fact they hadn’t started 7 games into the loan agreement, but he was proving to be more than a handful for opposition defenders.
Bosnian Diamond
Something clicked, 6 goals in 8 games came after getting his first from a goal mouth scramble for Ústí nad Labem and this saw his loan spell cut short and he was recalled to Teplice. The gangly defensive midfielder had returned from his loan spell as a goal scorer with a growing reputation in the media and a mutual respect from his fellow professionals.
13 goals in his first full season for Teplice saw him finish as the Gambrinus liga’s top goal scorer. Teplice knew they had something very special. Unfortunately for them, Magath, then coach of Wolfsburg knew it too and was quick to wrap up a deal that saw Edin join the Bundesliga club for €4,000,00. This in itself was a rise of metaphoric proportions.
Bosnian Legend
Since the UNICEF ambassador’s transfer to Wolfsburg he simply hasn’t looked back. He has quite simply become the most natural goal scorer of his generation in Europe with the strike rate to back it up.
City fans may expect this to continue, but don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t. Whilst Edin has a worthy strike partner (and he should never be short of that whilst in Manchester) he’ll offer more to the team than just goals as his sublime pass to Yaya Toure proved in the recent game against Wolves.
Mancini’s press conferences suggest he will start against Villa tomorrow, a game that undoubtedly thousands of City fans will watch on ESPN. Unusually for a game involving these two sides, a large number of Bosniaks will also be watching and cheering on their hero. In this signing City have captured one player, but thousands of fans.
(225) Days of Summer
Why a Summer Calendar Makes Sense
Various news agencies have recently reported that FIFA are investigating the implementation of a summer calendar in football worldwide. People have looked at this with aghast and put two and two together and come to the answer of 22. 2022. Qatar.
People, unsurprisingly, feel that this change is being brought into effect to compliment their proposals (by their I mean FIFA’s, Qatar has continually insisted it can host a summer tournament) to move the 2022 world cup to January/February where the weather conditions are less likely to relate in a tragedy of some sort, clubs refusing to release players or players refusing to travel.
In this man’s humble opinion, this is wrong. This change to the calendar is based on predictive weather patterns that seem to be suggesting that Western Europe’s prevailing westerlies are coming to an end. It’s these anti-trade winds that have, for at least 3 centuries, kept Western Europe especially mild in the winter months.
I’m not saying the end is nigh, so no looting please. But our ‘big freezes’ will become bigger and more prolonged if this hypothesis holds up to be true. Man up I hear somebody from the back shout. Well, attending a football match in conditions of -15c is fun once in a while (see Manchester City vs Everton in December of 2010) but that’s the kind of weather where people can die of exposure in minutes rather than hours. Had an unexpected heavy snow fall taken place during that match I fear people would have perished in the 2 mile hike back to the city centre. I’d also like to take this opportunity to bring to people’s attention Nathan Tomlinson, a young man who went missing recently in Manchester due to such a snow storm and who I’m sure we all hope will turn up safe and well.
Safety
In a country that’s becoming particularly health and safety crazy it’s easy to dismiss the games that are postponed in the winter period as an extension of this. It’s not. These games are cancelled as people’s lives are genuinely in danger when not just attending games but when travelling to and from the stadium.
Cost
Under soil heating is expensive to install and maintain. During cold-snaps unfortunately it’s a necessity to keep games being played, which is why so many games in the lower leagues fall victim to the weather as they cannot afford the costs associated with having any under-soil heating facilities. By moving the footballing calendar to the spring, summer and early autumn months it negates the need for clubs to have this and we will no longer see weeks of Soccer Saturday where Geoff and the boys talk about Countdown rather than the games being played.
Synchronisation
It’s been apparent for the past 20 years that as globalisation of the game has grown then the whole world needs to work from the same calendar. As it stands teams lose important players at a crunch time of the season due to the African Cup of Nations taking place in January. People say why isn’t held in June or July? Well hold it during those months and it would have to be pretty much hosted exclusively in Southern Africa, it’s not feasible to exclude the majority of the continent from ever being able to host the tournament to suit Europe’s calendar.
The reaction of the FA and it’s German counterpart have so far been battles as to who can outdo each other in terms of arrogance. ‘You can’t change 140 years of tradition’ one unnamed fellow bellowed. Now it might just be me, but if you can’t change football should we go back to playing without the offside rule, allowing pass-backs, playing without nets and not being able to use substitutions? What a load of nonsense. The game is constantly evolving and in this blues eyes, if the next step of evolution means I get to attend games with the sun on my back rather than having to wear 7 layers to keep the frost bite at bay then that makes perfect sense.
Conclusion
We’ll see a March-October domestic calendar sooner rather than later; and when it comes people will be grateful for it. Hopefully tragedy will not be the driving force of this change.
Thursday 20 January 2011
Sheikh, Rattle and Roll
In the past two and a bit years I’ve tried numerous times to quantify the Sheikh’s reasoning in purchasing Manchester City. A snippet of my ideas range from:
The Good Old Days:
The good boy from the UAE was just about old enough to appreciate City in their hay day. He was hooked at an early age by the grace of Bell and the elegancy of Summerbee and has never been able to let go. This is obviously flawed on so many levels but it’s the one I want to be most true.
The Promise of Manchester:
HRH is a philanthropist to the greatest degree. His idea of Manchester City is more than the football club but as a means to fully ride the wave of the next phase of human societal revolution from the very same city that has already provided two in the last two centuries. He’s obviously edging his bets we’re going to be centre stage for a third…
The Blueprint…:
See what I did there? Never mind. Unfortunately I think it is driven by what that other team have achieved. Not just on the pitch but off it too. I think there’s a certain realisation that to best the industries top dogs you need to be based close to them. The reasoning is simple. When they vanish from the market place you’re there, already in roughly the same geographical area and in prime position to pick up from where they flailed, failed and faltered.
I hope the reasoning is more sentimental. I wish our leader saw the opportunity for a perennial underdog to finally be set loose, to be unleashed and to battle on a level footing with the more sinister villain of the piece. I wish.
Digression
It’s an unsolvable conundrum and, happily, really doesn’t matter. The man is here and for the foreseeable future has done enough to ease the nagging doubts as to exactly how long he’s going to be here. I am happy. My fellow blues are happy. Hopefully the top dog is happy.
Give it to Gordon!
Carlos Tevez is a world class footballer. His goal ratio is world class. His technique is world class. His work-rate is world class. Unfortunately, despite being the most gifted player I’ve seen wear the sky blue of my city, he can also be the most frustrating player to watch.
Carlitos has dragged this club through more games than I’d care to mention, and more than I want to remember. He has the ability to make something happen out of nothing. To beat 3 defenders with an exquisite piece of skill or to simply bulldoze his way through them with that abnormally low centre of gravity he has. Only to then place the ball into row z of the 2nd tier of the family stand when a better ball was on.
Perhaps I’m being greedy I’ll readily admit I’m being unfair. I’ve not done anywhere near enough analysis to vindicate or validate this opinion fully. Perhaps I’m remember occasions where we’re two or more to the good and had the score been closer the little Argentinean hitman would have played the simple square ball.
There’s obviously some nagging doubt at the back of my mind that’s called on me to put these thoughts down to words. As it stands, this haphazard opinion is Tevez can do less for Tevez and more for the team. Let’s see what happens during the Villa game.
Dunne and Dusted
Richard Patrick Dunne. The Dunney Monster. Dunney. FFS Own Goal.
My favourite City player of teams gone by. He scored against us last season. I fear he’ll score against us again this season should he play. Kompany and Dunne. Dunne and Kompany. It should have been. Hopefully Dunne will not feature for two very different reasons:
i) He’ll score and subsequently put in a man of the match performance that stifles every attack we launch and Villa inevitably win.
OR
ii) He’ll play like a player does when they’ve had their confidence amputated in such a way that only Houllier can. He’ll fall down in my estimations faster than Stephen ‘Superman’ Ireland did and I’ll lose respect for a player that was once my hero.
Ireland was Superman
I toyed with the idea of just putting ‘will not play’. However, please see the section labelled ‘Typical City’ in my previous post. If he’s ever going to have a game that reignites his career, it will come against us. I sincerely hope the young man resolves whatever issues has caused his oh-so-quick fall from grace as he’s an insanely talented footballer and a top athlete to boot. It’s just a pitty he’s a bit of a loon. Now how true this is I don’t know, but I’ve heard; from more than one source that a selection of his nicknames are mongo (plausibly affectionate), crunchy (as in nut) and lastly Dougal. (For you Father Ted fans.)
Sort it out Steve and get back to being the footballer we all know you can be. But have a rest this weekend mate and start the master plan and resurrection from next weekend. Cheers.
Gerard Houllier
Even though I’ve got this awesome veil of anonymity I’m not going to pretend to have knowledge or ideas above my station. I do not have the experience of managing a top flight club… yet. However I’m 100% super confident I could do it better than this man. There’s very few managers that I don’t like. Houllier is #2 on that list. He’s a fraud. A pretender. He’s achieved success through shear blind luck and by wasting more money in the transfer market than Souness. (#1 in the list). Yes he’s won trophies at both Lyon and Liverpool, I’ll counter that and say Souness could have won trophies at both of these clubs if given the same financial backing.
I like Villa, despite the antics and treatment of both Barry and Milner I really don’t mind them. They were good to watch in the mid 90s and are premiership ever presents. They’ll do down this season though if this man is allowed to remain in charge until May.
Darren Bent
Will score.
I think we're going to see a score draw in this one folks. My money's on 2-2.
Until next time.
JB
Welcome
Welcome to my first attempt at creating words to be read by the masses. I’m not doing this for prestige, financial reward or as a means to create discussion. Nor will it be used purely as a means to vent (it goes without saying that venting will still take place, it just won’t be the sole reason of the existence of these pages). I want to use this little space of the internet I have as my own in order to hopefully educate, pass on my experiences and hopefully share laughs and tears until I simply get bored of sharing these thoughts any longer.
Ideally these will be posted on a weekly basis (less so in the summer months) to share the previous weeks thoughts and feelings.
‘Cupset’
The word ‘cupset’ as a matter of course should not be spoken. It’s a hideous word that both ITV and ESPN are doing their best to get the public to hook onto & to adopt. They won’t. The football going public do not want nor like these Americanisms forced upon them. This word will not enter common usage. Not on their game. Not on their watch.
I was drinking in a bustling unnamed pub where somebody unfortunately mentioned this ill-fated, soon to perish word. “Leeds may get a result against Arsenal. I can see a cupset happening.” The pub fell silent. Patrons gasped in disbelief. A small child cried. The shame was palpable. The man left. Normality commenced.
City, City, The Best Team in the Land in all the World
Notts County await, the 4th round of the much popularised ‘great leveller’ (this one can die a painful death too. Cancer of the vowel for this media inducted phrase would be a fitting end.) is set to begin in earnest with up to 5,700 of Manchester’s finest set to be in attendance to support the much, media, maligned super blues and hopefully guide them through to the 5th round without needing to bring the game back to home turf as was required against a valiant Leicester in the previous round.
Sitting almost 50 positions and 2 divisions above County in the football pyramid this should be a cakewalk, a stroll in the park… a guaranteed victory. But no. This isn’t just the cup, the FA cup, this is Manchester City. For those of you that are not familiar with City, you’ll be blissfully unaware of their ability to self-implode, to make the easy look daunting, to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and the simple look solid.
Typical City
Typical City, a bygone word hopefully for a bygone age, in the past; when the calamitous events took hold on the pitch, when the unexplained transpired off it Mulder and Scully were not called in. There would just be a mass shaking of heads, the odd tut and the muttering of those words. “Typical City.” Ironically the word typical is used to describe something that is so untypical.
This is a new age, a different era, the beginning of a new eon. Typical City will undoubtedly remain a phrase used on terraces of the Colin Bell Stand but the change is already coming. Whereas it once was used to refer to losing a game without the opposition having a shot on target, to miss a penalty when the opposition keeper is quite happy for a legend of the English game to break a record or Jamie Pollock scoring quite possibly the most well taken own goal of all time. If there were a hall of fame for own goals this wouldn’t just be at the summit, the hall of fame would be named in honour of this particular ‘goal’. That was then. This is now. Typical City is beginning to take on new meaning. Now it refers to drawing at home against a resolute Blackburn side. Shipping 3 goals to a battling Wolves team scrapping for their proverbial premiership lives. But still not losing. That’s the difference. In the last age of this proud club when Typical City struck disaster followed. Now it strikes and there’s a sense of anxiety, even panic for a moment of 10 minutes (or 15 if City happen to be playing those that shall not be named or are involved in a game refereed by a particularly incompetent referee.) but nothing more than a fleeting worry of what could happen. What the supporters expect to happen. That the worst will happen.
This is that new age, for the most part the worst does not happen. Anxiety and stress is replaced with relief and then joy. Victories are still accumulated, the manager and his aide-de-camp (Kompany, De Jong and Tevez) remain unshaken. These three modern day gladiators dig in at what was once brownland in East Manchester as the free men of the world did at Verdun. They hold their ground, they remain unshaken and they tell the opposition “You shall not pass!” (Unfortunately Tevez decides not to pass to anybody, but that’s a topic for another day’s conversation). This is the spine of a team that will win trophies. Ability is easy to replace (providing you have the right financial clout), the mindset of the winner not so. This is the foundation that City can ill afford to lose.
The City of Manchester Stadium
I won’t bore you with facts or figures, that’s Wikipedia’s job. I will share experience, something that cannot be added to an encyclopaedia in the same way knowledge, information and data can. This is the home ground of Manchester City, a place that is more passionate than it ever has been in the past. This is where supporting your football team is evolving to strange new levels; at least in England. This is where footballing history will be made and the benchmark will be set.
City, for the majority of their existence played their home games at Maine Road. A once behemoth of stadiums that was nick-named ‘The Wembley of the North’ upon construction. A grand standing arena that hosted 80,000 plus on more than one occasion became a tight compact football ground as the decades progressed and eventually became a unique footballing stadium during the 90’s when all seating was introduced. Blues of all ages have memories of Maine Road in the same way every fan has of their own grounds, past and preset. From the good to the bad. Of the Typical City. No other fan has memories of that. The bitter, bitter taste of losing when winning was the only likely conclusion. It is because of this, that the sweet will taste so much sweeter.
Maine Road though was not enough, the club had ambitions and with the Commonwealth games it also had an opportunity. The athletics stadium was being offered on lease. City took that lease and redeveloped the ground into a bowl arena offering ideal views of football for just over 47,000 at any one time. A huge improvement on the limited 32,000 Maine Road offered just before its passing.
Something wasn’t right. Where the Kippax was cramped, intimidating, raucous and offering the acoustics a 12th century Tuscan cathedral would be proud of, the City of Manchester Stadium was large, non-imposing, and instead of retaining the roar of the crowd let it drift up and away into the stratosphere. If Maine Road had the aesthetics of Vlad’s Transelvanian fortress, the City of Manchester Stadium was Disney’s castle.
For nigh on a decade it escaped Mr Joe City what was wrong. What worked once was not creating the atmosphere that used to exist at Maine Road. Instead they were left with the sound, that although still put many English footballing greats to shame, did not rival what was created at Maine Road. The hairs on the arms on the back of the neck would stand to attention at Maine Road. For many a year they fluttered in the City of Manchester Stadium’s unnatural breeze.
All it took to change this was 10,000 Poles. Lech came and showed their Mancunian cousins where they were going wrong. The boys from Poznan had a joker up their sleeves. Although offering rapturous support as ever for their beloved team they had also learnt something from their Ekstraklasa rivals Jagiellonia Białystok. Białystok have played for some time in a stadium that offers nothing in way of capturing the sound. Sound, as a medium, has been the football fans weapon of choice in intimidating the opposition for a century or more. In grounds that have poor acoustics (bowls, high roofed, etc) or are removed from the playing surface (running tracks, designed by idiots, etc) then sound is a pretty ineffective weapon. Attempting to intimidate the opposition with sound at Białystok was like attempting to tackle a panzer with a feather duster.
The ‘Poznan’
Białystok did something that was not quite unique, but something that moved the focus away from the audio to the visual. They showed their back to the playing area. They bounced. The visual unexpected is greater than the resonance expected. Poznan sang. Białystok could not hear. The players saw what was once considered tame support (by Polish standards at least) bounce for two hours, only turning to applaud their heroes after scoring.
Almost 5 years after this, Lech brought this to Manchester. They bounced whilst the City fans scorned and mocked. At first. Then that moment of realisation hit those from Manchester. They’ve since gone on to carry the spirit of the Poznan where ever they have played, firstly in small numbers. But it’s catching on. 45,000 did it following City’s recent 4th goal against Wolves. The visual spectacle has brought comments from both sides of the spectrum from opposing fans in recent weeks. The proof is in the pudding though, those that have witnessed it have now taken it and it’s catching on at their respective clubs.
As the winter chill remains this will remain just a spectacle that can only be appreciated by those that take part. As the nights draw out, the weather becomes milder and the coats are left at home or in the car, those at home will begin to see a mesmerising shade of sky blue during television coverage of games, bounce for all their worth. Something else will also happen between now and then. The visual impact of thousands of comrades in arms moving in unison, as has been the norm on the continent since the early 80s and earlier will fully dawn on those ever faithful blues from Manchester. Something beyond comprehension will happen. They will take it to Wembley and beyond whilst contesting for trophies and prestige and the world will see. The world will imitate. The world will do the ‘Manchester City’.
Ideally these will be posted on a weekly basis (less so in the summer months) to share the previous weeks thoughts and feelings.
‘Cupset’
The word ‘cupset’ as a matter of course should not be spoken. It’s a hideous word that both ITV and ESPN are doing their best to get the public to hook onto & to adopt. They won’t. The football going public do not want nor like these Americanisms forced upon them. This word will not enter common usage. Not on their game. Not on their watch.
I was drinking in a bustling unnamed pub where somebody unfortunately mentioned this ill-fated, soon to perish word. “Leeds may get a result against Arsenal. I can see a cupset happening.” The pub fell silent. Patrons gasped in disbelief. A small child cried. The shame was palpable. The man left. Normality commenced.
City, City, The Best Team in the Land in all the World
Notts County await, the 4th round of the much popularised ‘great leveller’ (this one can die a painful death too. Cancer of the vowel for this media inducted phrase would be a fitting end.) is set to begin in earnest with up to 5,700 of Manchester’s finest set to be in attendance to support the much, media, maligned super blues and hopefully guide them through to the 5th round without needing to bring the game back to home turf as was required against a valiant Leicester in the previous round.
Sitting almost 50 positions and 2 divisions above County in the football pyramid this should be a cakewalk, a stroll in the park… a guaranteed victory. But no. This isn’t just the cup, the FA cup, this is Manchester City. For those of you that are not familiar with City, you’ll be blissfully unaware of their ability to self-implode, to make the easy look daunting, to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and the simple look solid.
Typical City
Typical City, a bygone word hopefully for a bygone age, in the past; when the calamitous events took hold on the pitch, when the unexplained transpired off it Mulder and Scully were not called in. There would just be a mass shaking of heads, the odd tut and the muttering of those words. “Typical City.” Ironically the word typical is used to describe something that is so untypical.
This is a new age, a different era, the beginning of a new eon. Typical City will undoubtedly remain a phrase used on terraces of the Colin Bell Stand but the change is already coming. Whereas it once was used to refer to losing a game without the opposition having a shot on target, to miss a penalty when the opposition keeper is quite happy for a legend of the English game to break a record or Jamie Pollock scoring quite possibly the most well taken own goal of all time. If there were a hall of fame for own goals this wouldn’t just be at the summit, the hall of fame would be named in honour of this particular ‘goal’. That was then. This is now. Typical City is beginning to take on new meaning. Now it refers to drawing at home against a resolute Blackburn side. Shipping 3 goals to a battling Wolves team scrapping for their proverbial premiership lives. But still not losing. That’s the difference. In the last age of this proud club when Typical City struck disaster followed. Now it strikes and there’s a sense of anxiety, even panic for a moment of 10 minutes (or 15 if City happen to be playing those that shall not be named or are involved in a game refereed by a particularly incompetent referee.) but nothing more than a fleeting worry of what could happen. What the supporters expect to happen. That the worst will happen.
This is that new age, for the most part the worst does not happen. Anxiety and stress is replaced with relief and then joy. Victories are still accumulated, the manager and his aide-de-camp (Kompany, De Jong and Tevez) remain unshaken. These three modern day gladiators dig in at what was once brownland in East Manchester as the free men of the world did at Verdun. They hold their ground, they remain unshaken and they tell the opposition “You shall not pass!” (Unfortunately Tevez decides not to pass to anybody, but that’s a topic for another day’s conversation). This is the spine of a team that will win trophies. Ability is easy to replace (providing you have the right financial clout), the mindset of the winner not so. This is the foundation that City can ill afford to lose.
The City of Manchester Stadium
I won’t bore you with facts or figures, that’s Wikipedia’s job. I will share experience, something that cannot be added to an encyclopaedia in the same way knowledge, information and data can. This is the home ground of Manchester City, a place that is more passionate than it ever has been in the past. This is where supporting your football team is evolving to strange new levels; at least in England. This is where footballing history will be made and the benchmark will be set.
City, for the majority of their existence played their home games at Maine Road. A once behemoth of stadiums that was nick-named ‘The Wembley of the North’ upon construction. A grand standing arena that hosted 80,000 plus on more than one occasion became a tight compact football ground as the decades progressed and eventually became a unique footballing stadium during the 90’s when all seating was introduced. Blues of all ages have memories of Maine Road in the same way every fan has of their own grounds, past and preset. From the good to the bad. Of the Typical City. No other fan has memories of that. The bitter, bitter taste of losing when winning was the only likely conclusion. It is because of this, that the sweet will taste so much sweeter.
Maine Road though was not enough, the club had ambitions and with the Commonwealth games it also had an opportunity. The athletics stadium was being offered on lease. City took that lease and redeveloped the ground into a bowl arena offering ideal views of football for just over 47,000 at any one time. A huge improvement on the limited 32,000 Maine Road offered just before its passing.
Something wasn’t right. Where the Kippax was cramped, intimidating, raucous and offering the acoustics a 12th century Tuscan cathedral would be proud of, the City of Manchester Stadium was large, non-imposing, and instead of retaining the roar of the crowd let it drift up and away into the stratosphere. If Maine Road had the aesthetics of Vlad’s Transelvanian fortress, the City of Manchester Stadium was Disney’s castle.
For nigh on a decade it escaped Mr Joe City what was wrong. What worked once was not creating the atmosphere that used to exist at Maine Road. Instead they were left with the sound, that although still put many English footballing greats to shame, did not rival what was created at Maine Road. The hairs on the arms on the back of the neck would stand to attention at Maine Road. For many a year they fluttered in the City of Manchester Stadium’s unnatural breeze.
All it took to change this was 10,000 Poles. Lech came and showed their Mancunian cousins where they were going wrong. The boys from Poznan had a joker up their sleeves. Although offering rapturous support as ever for their beloved team they had also learnt something from their Ekstraklasa rivals Jagiellonia Białystok. Białystok have played for some time in a stadium that offers nothing in way of capturing the sound. Sound, as a medium, has been the football fans weapon of choice in intimidating the opposition for a century or more. In grounds that have poor acoustics (bowls, high roofed, etc) or are removed from the playing surface (running tracks, designed by idiots, etc) then sound is a pretty ineffective weapon. Attempting to intimidate the opposition with sound at Białystok was like attempting to tackle a panzer with a feather duster.
The ‘Poznan’
Białystok did something that was not quite unique, but something that moved the focus away from the audio to the visual. They showed their back to the playing area. They bounced. The visual unexpected is greater than the resonance expected. Poznan sang. Białystok could not hear. The players saw what was once considered tame support (by Polish standards at least) bounce for two hours, only turning to applaud their heroes after scoring.
Almost 5 years after this, Lech brought this to Manchester. They bounced whilst the City fans scorned and mocked. At first. Then that moment of realisation hit those from Manchester. They’ve since gone on to carry the spirit of the Poznan where ever they have played, firstly in small numbers. But it’s catching on. 45,000 did it following City’s recent 4th goal against Wolves. The visual spectacle has brought comments from both sides of the spectrum from opposing fans in recent weeks. The proof is in the pudding though, those that have witnessed it have now taken it and it’s catching on at their respective clubs.
As the winter chill remains this will remain just a spectacle that can only be appreciated by those that take part. As the nights draw out, the weather becomes milder and the coats are left at home or in the car, those at home will begin to see a mesmerising shade of sky blue during television coverage of games, bounce for all their worth. Something else will also happen between now and then. The visual impact of thousands of comrades in arms moving in unison, as has been the norm on the continent since the early 80s and earlier will fully dawn on those ever faithful blues from Manchester. Something beyond comprehension will happen. They will take it to Wembley and beyond whilst contesting for trophies and prestige and the world will see. The world will imitate. The world will do the ‘Manchester City’.
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