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Mark Hughes’ dismissal was the least surprising news of the weekend, the managerial mayhem of the Premier League almost guaranteeing it, the media confirming it before Manchester City’s encounter with Sunderland. Hughes may well be upset, believing that his team were on the verge of something big but a divergence of defining that between himself and the club is at the root of the matter.
According to Hughes, his target for this season was agreed as a top six finish and 70 or more points. For an investor, this is not a good return on £200m especially since the top six finish does not guarantee European football next season. For the owners of Manchester City to have agreed that, many would believe them to be the perfect shareholders.
It became apparent that the board of the club did not share this view and in light of the team’s performances this season, there is some merit in their argument that the signs of improvement were not tangible. Indeed, it would be true to say that City has been the definition of a ‘big game team‘, winning at home to Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League, drawing at Anfield and narrowly defeated in their local derby.
However, seven other drawn games suggests that either incompetence or indifference has taken hold at Eastlands. Failure to beat Burnley, Hull or Bolton is not the form of a team that is confident of challenging the existing top four. Even if they win their game in hand, City will still be sixth. The recent capitulation at White Hart Lane did not indicate that Hughes was capable of halting the rut into which the team had dropped.
The Welshman is understandably upset at the board for talking to Roberto Mancini yet to believe those negotiations had not commenced some time ago is equally naive. Steve Gibson of Middlesbrough is widely regarded as a tolerant chairman, repeatedly as an almost the perfect boss. Even he admitted at the weekend that he had contacted Gordon Strachan before relieving Gareth Southgate of his duties.
The League Managers Association has opposed such moves but it is standard business practice to have a successor for key personnel in position ready for their employment being terminated. Hughes can have little complaint; he has squandered a good position. The squad was his own and if his purchases do not perform, then the axe is inevitable
The Uefa Champions League was revamped with effect from this season, the changes were supposed to give smaller European nations the chance to have representatives in the group phase and beyond. The charade was exposed with the trade-off made that in surrendering the possibility of one of the larger nations sides not progressing through the ‘non-champions’ qualifying round, those nations gained an extra place in the group phase by right.
Including this season, the past five has become lop-sided in the composition of the knockout rounds, the countries represented shows little change. The big three nations – England, Spain and Italy – have all had at least three representatives in the first knockout stage, meaning that 56% of the competitors minimum, have come from three divisions. In itself that is not in the least bit surprising. Money allows investment and these three generate the highest aggregate revenues in european club football.
Outside of these, the picture is surprisingly stable. Lyon have made the knockout phase on each occasion during this time, joined sporadically by a compatriot club. German, Portuguese and Greek teams invariably qualify as well, leaving at most four places available, usually less since on occasion, the first nations on that list have provided two clubs at this stage.
Filling the remaining places has been predictable. Celtic and Rangers have both represented Scotland until 2007/08, since then nothing whilst the decline of the Dutch League has meant that PSV were the last side from Holland to progress beyond the group phase in 2006/07 when they lost in the quarter-finals. Since then Turkish and surprisingly, for the first time this season, a Russian side has made it to the knockout phase.
Experimentally, Platini will argue that his grand plan was a success. It is a tough case to make. Whilst Debrecen, for example, made it to the group phase, they picked up their appearance money only, failing to earn a merit reward for points gained. That is not an extreme example unfortunately since Maccabi Haifa found their efforts as financially poor. Quite possibly this is the point; exposure to higher levels of football than those encountered domestically should theoretically improve a squad’s overall standard. However, that presumes the exposure is more than six games a season.
If Platini wants to level the playing field in this competition, he has few options and those available will be unpalatable to Uefa or their sponsors. The final between Monaco and Porto in 2004/05 was an exception that proves the rule rather than being the start of a power shift. Since then, only 7 teams have filled the sixteen semi-final places, all of them from England, Italy or Spain and for the past two seasons, no Italian club has emerged victorious in the quarter-finals. Dare Uefa try to interfere in an almost Darwinian football process?
The only real solution, assuming that the format of the Champions League is not to revert to a true knockout competition, is to remove the artifice inserted into the draws for each round. Other than ensuring that the most financially lucrative clubs progress, there is no rationale for seeding or preventing clubs from the same country facing each other in the group phase or first knockout round. Were the draws for these to be made entirely fair, the probability is that every season would see some domestic clashes played out on the european stage at an earlier stage than the quarter finals.
Is there anything wrong in this? No doubt that were a group to comprise of those clubs who are seeded now, there would be griping yet in a competition surely the element of luck in a draw is part of it’s charm? The Uefa Champions League is a stale tournament. The same clutch of clubs will make it to the quarter-finals and further; the same countries represented. If Platini and his cohorts want the exclusivity, create an Elite League to run concurrently with the domestic leagues; allow a smaller club the chance to win a trophy. Above all else, stop portraying the picture of inclusivity whilst poking heads out of corporate pockets.
Optimism is a pre-requisite for football supporters. It takes different forms; winning a trophy for one club is the equivalent of avoiding relegation at another. The supporter, before and during a season, will invariably swing between belief and the less palatable outcome. As the Premier League avalanche sweeps all before it, the downward trajectory is being ignored. Until yesterday when the true extent of the Promised Land became evident for Liverpool supporters.
The optimism of Hicks and Gillett’s takeover was hardly unbridled but new owners wasted little time in raising the stakes, lifting the belief that they had new investment to build a new Anfield, give Rafa Benitez funds to spend on new players and deliver the Premier League title, the obsession for a club that became used to being champions of England but had not heard those words precede their club name for 20 years.
Having finished closer in 2008/09 to winning the title, the new season was approached with a guarded optimism. The plans for a new stadium had been put on the backburner as it was apparent that the American owners failed to borrow the money required, refusing or unable to invest their personal wealth into the club’s future. The length of commitment required for personal intervention was probably a driving force behind this. Neither makes any attempt to disguise their disdain for the other, quite probably regretting their dual involvement.
Their summer transfer dealings were disastrous. 2008 saw a distasteful public courtship of Gareth Barry, a signing which never materialised, and the attempted offloading of Xabi Alonso to Arsenal, reportedly falling through over £200k. Fast forward to 2009 and one of those transfers happened, Alonso returning to Spain. Barry upped sticks to Manchester City whilst Aquilani was brought in from Roma. The Italian though came with a proviso: he was injured, unavailable until autumn.
Having spent the majority of his funds on this transfer and Glen Johnson from Portsmouth, Benitez was unable to invest in forwards, a situation which haunted him as the Champions League was exited and the Premier League slipped from his grasp as Fernando Torres was sidelined. Europa League football is not much of a prospect to look forward to but this is the reality facing Liverpool for 2009/10 and quite possibly the following season as well.
Prior to the home fixture with Arsenal, Benitez gave a frank assessment of his situation. There was no money to spend nor would the coming seasons bring any immediate improvement. £60m of debt had to be repaid and with no-one willing to match the £100m sought by the owners for a mere 25% stake in the club, spending would be drastically reigned in. Media supposition that Gerrard and Torres may be sold to fund this was dismissed by the Spaniard yet the nagging doubt cannot be so easily shaken.
The club’s financial state is a warning for those clubs looking at foreign takeovers or already subjected to huge debt burdens on their parent company balance sheets. Unless you are delivering trophies – major ones at that – your business is unsustainable. Asset stripping is too strong a term but realisation of valuable assets is around the corner unless the American nightmare turns to a dream.
For many the Liverpool scenario is one that was destined to happen at Arsenal. Funding a new stadium restricted activity in the transfer market. Arsene Wenger and the board had thought ahead, bringing through young talent over a number of seasons, building an Academy and scouting system that created a sustained turnover of players. Liverpool is some way behind as the Carling Cup encounters over recent seasons have shown. It is a path that they are now treading, a path which will show how good a manager Benitez really is. If it comes to fruition, Hicks and Gillett may be consigned to the history books with not many good words accompanying them. If not, they may be remembered as the men who broke the bank of Anfield.
Adidas has announced that the roundest ball ever, the Jubulani, will be used during next summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa. It continues the trend to improving balls which have evolved since the leather cannonball was first used.
The key piece of equipment, footballs have been iconic. The Orange ball used in the 1966 finals in England carries the same resonance on South America as the 1958 and 1962 versions.
Geoff Hurst's hat-trick goal, an iconic moment for the orange ball
It was part of a golden era for the ball. 1970 saw perhaps the most stylish ball issued, the Telstar which was improved and used in the 1974 finals. To those of a certain age, this is the ball remembered, the joy with which a replica was received is a memory that stays close in my mind.
1978’s Tango left Arie Haan’s boot and flew into the net with unerring accuracy. Or the stylish freekicks of Cubillas which possibly hurt Ally McLeod more than the dog that bit him after the debacle against Iran in the Scots second game. Heroic failure following their 3-2 win over the Dutch ensured that the Tango entered English folklore.
The modern game has seen manufacturers attempt to build the scientifically perfect ball. No doubt the influence of the game’s ruling bodies have been behind such moves, as well as the quest for global domination between Adidas, Nike and Puma, two of which were driven by familial wranglings and the desire to put the new kid on the block in their place.
The question becomes more complex when the good of the game is taken into consideraton. Everyone wants to see goals, that is after all the object of the exercise. Yet surely the outcome should be decided by moments of craft, outstanding skill and exemplary technique. To encourage long range shooting is commendable since a strike from distant encompasses all three.
However, as distance from goal increases, the number of bodies between the shooter and the goal is likewise more. As more shots come in from distance, the likelihood of deflection en route increases. At its most extreme, this scenario makes football a lottery, one where skill is replaced by luck. Is that the ultimate endgame of designers? To make football become as high scoring as rugby or worse, basketball?
Too much focus is put upon outfield players abilities without any real concern that goalkeeping could become a dying art, as bigger players are moved to fill the gap between the posts and crossbars. Time for FIFA and UEFA to go back to the drawing board and concentrate on improving skills and technique rather than focussing on easing that problem via the equipment.
Len Shackleton included a chapter in his autobiography that was blank, save for the title “The Average Director’s Knowledge of Football“. Fifty-three years on from publication, this week has seen more evidence that little has changed.
During the summer months of 2009, Portsmouth Football Club was subjected to a protracted and comical takeover reminiscent of that which Spencer Trethewy inflicted upon Aldershot in 1990. The outcome has not yet been as devastating to the club but there were considerable fears reported in the media that the club would be unable to survive financially, evidenced by a failure to pay players wages recently.
Throughout the summer, Paul Hart sat and watched helplessly as the best players were sold for fees in excess of £35m without funds being made available for recruiting replacements. Sulaiman Al Fahim concluded his ill-fated purchase of the club late in August, photographed in his personalised replica away top, seemingly feted as a saviour for the club. The protracted nature of the negotiations, and the emergence of a rival consortia no doubt exacerbated the takeover, left Hart with little time to pull together a squad for the 2009-10 season.
The club’s start to the season was unsurprisingly poor given the circumstances. Seven straight defeats in the Premier League came to an abrupt and startling end with consecutive four goal victories. From seemingly being cut adrift at the bottom of the division, the gap to safety had been cut. That cut no ice with the owners of the club; Paul Hart was relieved of his managerial duties this week.
Having survived the crisis this summer, Portsmouth needed stability. If that had meant the club rebuilding with a season in The Championship, it should have been a price worth paying. Instead, an instant remedy is being sought although the club is rudderless in the interim between Hart’s departure and a new appointment. The players though remain the same; whether the January transfer window will be an effective saviour for the next manager remains to be seen.
Premier League survival is the only thing that matters when faced with relegation, particularly if players contracts take no account of any diminished status bestowed upon the club through failure. Yet would the club have been better served by retaining Hart, especially in light of improved form which even with recent defeats, was vastly better than the opening seven games.
That Portsmouth have reacted quickly may yet turn out to be a masterstroke if they pull clear of the relegation zone. Such is the closeness in points totals at this stage of the season that three wins can elevate their position one place in the table if everyone else continues to take points off each other. It appears that consecutive away defeats have brought about Hart’s dismissal. However, victories at Blackburn and Stoke seemed highly unlikely on paper, let alone on the pitch.
In such circumstances, new owners often seek to bring in a ‘name’ manager. Avram Grant may well be a likeable man but is he the man to save them? Perhaps and time will tell. Yet with the paucity of talent within the squad, January wheeling and dealing is going to be crucial to their season. The sacking leaves an uneasy taste in the mouth. Hart worked hard throughout the summer in circumstances that may have forced others to consider their options and leave the club. His loyalty was rewarded with unemployment.
Should sentiment have come into the equation? The business side of the game probably dictates that it should not. The ego of a new owner automatically means it will not. Yet this will be the same owner who at points in the future will berate want-away players for their lack of loyalty “to a club that has treated them well“. The days of owners wanting their cake and eating it have yet to change. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
GROUP A
Chelsea maintained their unbeaten start to see themselves three points clear at the top of Group A. John Terry’s seventy-eighth minute winner enough to see off AS Roma who will nervously be eyeing the result in Romania as their qualification is starting to look a little precarious. Bordeaux did them a favour by beating CFR Cluj-Napoca by a solitary Cadu own goal. Matters got worse for the Romanians with Trica being sent off in the last minute. Chelsea top the group with seven points, Cluj second with four. Roma have three and will be looking for at least a point in a fortnight’s time when Chelsea visit the Eternal City.
GROUP B
The big two met in Milan where Internazionale laboured to see off the challenge of Anorthosis Famagusta. Adriano scored the only goal of the game a minute before the interval. Panathinaikos teetered with elimination as they fell behind to a Mertesacker goal for Werder Bremen. Greek eyes were smiling as Mantzios scored twice either side of half-time but the Germans are nothing if not durable opponents and equalised through Hugo Almeida with seven minutes remaining. Inter are top with seven points, Famagusta second with four, Werder have three.
GROUP C
Barcelona can confirm their qualification from the Group phase with a win over Basle in the Camp Nou in a fortnight’s time. Every indication that will be the outcome after they crushed the Swiss side 5 – 0 in Basle with goals from Messi on four, Busquets on the quarter hour and Bojan seven minutes later put them in command. Bojan and Xavi scored twice in the first three minutes of the second half to complete the rout. They look likely to be joined by Sporting Lisbon for whom Liedson scored the only goal in their win at Shaktar Donetsk. Barcelona have nine points, Sporting six, Shaktar three.
GROUP D
In the Vicente Calderon a match took place, UEFA finally seeing sense after their farcical decision to ban Atletico Madrid for two home matches, a week before the first of those kicked off. Liverpool took the lead through Robbie Keane who is fast becoming the stereotypical tourist; a layabout at home but scoring in Europe. Despite good opportunities, it took the hosts eighty-three minutes before they equalised through Simao Sabrosa. Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven ended their barren spell with a 2 – 0 victory over Marseilles. A Koevermans double effectively eliminating the French champions from this years competition, although a three goal victory in matchday four will put them in pole position for the UEFA Cup spot. Liverpool are top with seven, ahead of Atletico on head-to-head results. PSV occupy third with three points.
GROUP E
In the Battle of Britain, Manchester United swept past Celtic, their 3 – 0 victory putting them at the top of Group E. Goals from Rooney and a Berbatov brace souring Gordon Strachan’s return to Old Trafford. Villarreal made hard work of AaB Aalborg to join United in second place. Saganowski gave the Danes the lead before Rossi and Cadevila put the Spaniards ahead ten minutes before the interval. When the break came, the match was all square as Enevoldsen equalised. It proved the cue for The Yellow Submarine to go on a goal blitz as Llorente scored twice in three minutes before Johansson made matters a little nervy for the hosts. Pires and Llorente’s hat-trick completed a 6 – 3 win. United and Villarreal both have seven points with Celtic and Aalborg one apiece.
GROUP F
Bayern Munich returned to winning ways, comfortably easing past Fiorentina with a 3 – 0 victory. Klose and Schweinsteiger scored in the first half before Ze Roberto finished matters off in the last minute. It was a goalfest in Bucharest as Lyon put five past Steaua who managed a paltry three in reply. Arthuro and Goian put Steaua into a two-goal lead before Keita and Benzema levelled matters. Petre then restored the Romanians advantage but that just served to make the French side mad. Fred got a brace and Benzema another in the second half blitz to leave Bayern top with seven points, Lyon in second with five, Fiore have two.
GROUP G
Fenerbahce welcomed Arsenal to Hell but the Londoners were on the side of the angels as they ran out 5 – 2 winners in Istanbul. Adebayor and Walcott scored twice in a minute before Silvestre put through his own net. Diaby then hit back for Arsenal to take a 3 – 1 lead with a quarter of the match played. Alex Song added a fourth with four minutes of the second half played. Dani Guiza tightened Arsenal sphincters a little with eleven minutes to go but Welsh international, Aaron Ramsey, scored a superb strike in injury time for an emphatic win. With Dynamo Kyiv winning 1 – 0 thanks to Aliev’s goal on twenty-seven minutes at Porto, Arsenal can qualify with a victory in the return provided Porto do not win in Kyiv. The Gunners have seven points, Kyiv five, Porto two.
GROUP G
Two of this competition’s illustrious rivals met in Turin where Juventus scraped past Real Madrid 2 – 1. It was a close run thing as Del Piero broke the deadlock with a thunderous strike and Amauri doubled the lead shortly after half-time. Real threw everything including the kitchen sink at Alex Manninger but he kept all of it bar a Ruud van Nistelrooy effort midway through the second half. In Russia, Zenit St Petersburg fell behind to BATE Borisov when Nekhaychik strcuk seven minutes in the second half. Tekke levelled matters with ten minutes to go. Juve top the group with seven, Real have six and BATE two.
GROUP A
Chelsea sat on top of the Premier League as well as this qualification group prior to their visit to Romania and at the end of the evening were still there thanks to a goalless draw against surprise package CFR Cluj-Napoca. Even the bookings were level with two apiece in a forgettable clash. AS Roma meanwhile, travelled to France knowing that a defeat to Girondins Bordeaux would effectively end their hopes of qualification. As it was, they unleashed The Beast and ran out comfortable 3 – 1 winners. It was not without a scare as Youann Gorcuff gave the French side the lead on eighteen minutes, the game changing with the dismissal of Henrique eight minutes before half-time. Vucinic brought the Italians level with a quarter of the game remaining leaving the stage set for Julio Baptista to revive memories of the form that made him one of Sevilla’s prized assets. He scored twice in the last nineteen minutes to allow the Romans to dream of being in the final.
GROUP B
In a match laden with political overtones, Anorthosis Famagusta entertained Panathinaikos and ran out comfortable 3 – 1 winners to maintain their top spot. A Sarriegi own goal after eleven minutes set the rot for the Greeks, Dobrasinovic doubling the Cypriots lead five minutes later. Salpigidis pulled one back with barely half an hour on the clock but defeat was assured when Mulla Mohammed scored with twelve minutes of the match remaining. Internazionale were second on alphabetical order as they were held to a 1 – 1 draw by Werder Bremen. Maicon gave the Italians the lead with a quarter of an hour played only for Pizarro to level the match with a second half equaliser.
GROUP C
Barcelona maintained their 100% start to the competition with a late win in the Ukraine. Shaktar Donetsk took the lead through Ilsinho on the the stroke of half-time before Argentenean wonderkid, Lionel Messi, scored twice in the last three minutes. Controvesy followed the win with Barca accused of lacking sporting grace by not kicking the ball into touch with a Shaktar player injured in the build-up to the equaliser. That the ruling was abandoned by FIFA a couple of seasons ago has done little to help ease the Ukrainians pain.Sporting Lisbon recovered from their mauling in the Camp Nou to ease past whipping boys Basle in Portugal. Romagnoli and Derlei the scorers in a 2 – 0 victory.
GROUP D
In the Vicente Calderon, the headlines were garnered by crowd trouble for which Atletico de Madrid were hastily punished by UEFA. A two-match home ban was subsequently suspended until a full appeal hearing could be heard on October 30th. It did not stop the Spaniards enjoying a 2 – 1 win over Olympique Marseille, Kun Aguero opened the scoring on four minutes only for Niang to level twelve minutes later. The winner came with barely a quarter of the match played, Raul Garcia the days hero. Liverpool followed their win in Marseille with a comfortable 3 – 1 victory over PSV Eindhoven at Anfield. Hold the front, back and centre pages! Crack the champagne, break out the bunting, have a sausage roll in celebration for Robbie Keane scored!!! Dirk Kuyt started the party mood, air guitaring through Agadoo after his fifth minute opener and L’ilStevie Gerrard finished it all off. The Dutch consolation coming from Koevermans.
GROUP E
Bruce Rioch locked horns with an English club once more and found his AaB Aalborg side on the wrong side of a double from Dimitar Berbatov and a Wayne Rooney goal as Manchester United cruised to a 3 – 0 victory in Denmark. Celtic’s abysmal away record in Europe continues, a Marcos Senna goal sending them to defeat at Villarreal. The last time that The Bhoys won in Europe, Gladstone was still Prime Minister of Britain or at least that is the way it feels to Gordon Strachan.
GROUP F
Bayern Munchen‘s indifferent start to the season continued with a 1 – 1 draw at home to Olympique Lyonnais. Juninho gave the visitors the lead midway through the first half before his compatriot, Ze Roberto, levelled proceedings seven minutes into the second half. Steaua Bucharest could not hit the backside of a cow with a banjo nor the back of the net in a goalless draw in Florence. Nor could cFiorentina so that made a mockery of all the claims that the Champions League is the pinnacle of club football.
GROUP G
Having surrendered their unbeaten home record at the weekend to Hull City, Arsenal might have expected a sterner test from FC Porto. Whilst the Portuguese giants may not be fallen, they are certainly slumbering. Having spurned a golden chance minutes before Robin van Persie opened the scoring just past the half hour, Porto crumbled when faced with Arsenal’s attack. Emmanuel Adebayor doubled the lead before the interval before the duo got their braces in the second half, Arsenal’s 4 – 0 victory sending them to the top of the group. Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kyiv failed to hit the target in Istanbul, leaving the Turks with a tall order to qualify.
GROUP H
BATE Borisov shocked Juventus by racing into a two-goal lead through Krivets and Stasevich before a quarter of the game had been played. Such fairytales could not last as Iaquinta scored twice before half-time to level matters. A goalless second half meant the match finished 2 – 2. Zenit St Petersburg are finding life at Europe’s top table considerably more difficult to stomach than the UEFA Cup was last season. A Hubocan own goal gave Real Madrid the lead after six minutes, Danny equalising twenty minutes later. When Ruud van Nistelrooy struck on thirty-one, the Russians had no reply as Real ran out 2 – 1 winners in Russia.
