Two games in and isn't it obvious? For all the squad depth they have and all the confidence of Sir Alex it's pretty clear that Manchester United already misses Christiano Ronaldo, losing 1-0 at Turf Moor to Burnley today. Burnley! Sure United isn't the first big club to go up to Burnley and lose, as the Carling Cup showed last season, it's just how they lost today, for the first time in 33 years versus Burnley! In a match where they absolutely dominated the action and dominated possession they were missing one key ingredient-- some overly gelled up guy from Portugal with a tendency to bout and do Greg Louganis impressions. As a neutral I've seen this script play out endlessly over the past two years. United goes on the road and needs a big goal against a team playing ten men behind the ball. They turn to Ronaldo and he produces.
Point 1: Michael Carrick takes and misses a penalty. Come on. Would Ronaldo have missed that penalty? Owen Hargreaves can't get healthy fast enough if you're Alex Ferguson. With Lamps at Chelsea and Gerrard at Liverpool they need someone with a bit more confidence to step up there and rifle one in the back of the net.
Point 2: Following another unique United trait from the past couple of years they seem to generate a ton of chances but very little movement on the scoreboard. Create, create, create. Miss, miss, miss. To have such an abundance of shot opportunities but have only four actual shots on goal is a bit amazing and concerning all at the same time. The presence of Ronaldo, forcing defenses to account for him, would have surely produced at least one goal. They had thirteen corner attempts! And sure Burnley was playing a 10-0-0 at the end of the match, but do you blame them?
So what do we have?
We have a United club that just lost on the road to Burnley in their second match of the season. It's awful tight at the top and United needed to do to Burnley what Chelsea did to Sunderland yesterday, regroup from that early goal and go on to show the club who's boss. Unfortunately they had a keen inability to do just that. Beyond that doesn't it seem like United has a heck of a difficult time finishing? United is real adept at creating scoring chances and dominating possession but when it comes to actually finishing Sir Alex has to be a bit concerned. Nani and Valencia and Park are crafty and quick and create some exciting chances but are sorely lacking in the ability to get the ball on net.
In Other Action...
Tottenham heads up to Hull and completely play the Tigers off the pitch and continue the home misery of Phil Brown's boys with Jermaine Defoe going crazy and scoring a hat trick with Robbie Keane and Wilson Palacios chipping in. Can this actually be the year that they live up to all the hype? With a win already in hand versus Liverpool and the destruction of Hull showing they can win on the road the Spurs look like they're a lock for 5th or 6th and may even be in that Manchester City category of a club that could break the top four. After a derby versus West Ham and a home fixture versus Birmingham we'll find out real quick if they have the mustard with September matches at home versus Manchester United and at Stamford Bridge versus Chelsea. Old Harry may have a story developing here. They sure are fun to watch.
Over at Anfield Liverpool goes absolutely crazy on Stoke wiping away any memories of the Stoke upset from last year with a 4-0 thrashing. Their destruction buries my fantasy team once and for all this short week completing drubbing my fill in keeper Thomas Sorensen. Manchester United can take a little lesson from Liverpool in how to properly thrash an inferior team with an equal number of shot attempts (19) but a whole lot more shots on goal (13).
What does a couple of early season weekday matches tell us? Perhaps a lot, or perhaps not much at all. It'll be interesting to see how Manchester United react to this loss. Will it possess them to make a few more moves in the transfer market and perhaps spend some of that Ronaldo money? Of course the answer is no and of course they'll regroup and probably rip off 8 straight shutouts.
The joy of the EPL. Last weekend everyone though Liverpool was done, absolutely wiped. Now they wipe out Stoke and Manchester United are done! It's week two and we're all crazy. It's going to be a hell of a year.
Showing posts with label EPL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EPL. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Premier League Preview
Will Manchester City finish in the top 4? The answer will be a resounding no. They'll make progress on last years ninth place finish and end up somewhere around six or seven in a rotation with Villa, Tottenham, Fulham, Everton, etc. With all the money spent by Mark Hughes Manchester City is still not attracting the true difference maker players. With the exception of Robinho it's arguable that none of their top eleven could crack the top eleven at Manchester United or Chelsea. Naturally there is still time in the transfer window to make more moves but they are sorely lacking defensively and still have to prove they have the ability to win away from home. There will also be a lot of pressure on Hughes to mix together some potentially difficult personalities in Robinho, Emmanual Adebayor, Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tevez, etc. What's more likely? Hughes leads the sack race of City contend for the top four?
What player will be the story of the year in the Premier League? With Christiano Ronaldo in Madrid Wayne Rooney will step up and fulfill all expecations of greatness that he's carried since his mid-teens. He'll form a tough combination with Dimitar Berbatov and take his game to the next level as he creatively and doggedly creates chance after chance for United.
If Manchester City isn't going to contend for the top four, who will? The top four will again remain the same. Tottenham will be more consistent, Everton will be as consistent as ever and a young Aston Villa team will continue to contend. Still, in the end, the top four will remain the same with Arsenal easily holding off the fifth place club.
Who will be the breakout player this season? The breakout player of the season will be a guy who kinda sorta broke out last season, Andre Arshavin. Arsenal won't miss Adebayor all that much as Arshavin will become even more of a household name for English football fans.
What manager will be the first to go? I'm not sure there's going to be a sack race. Although Mark Hughes will be under a lot of pressure the clear obvious pick is Phil Brown. It's clear the club has had trouble attracting players this season and you wonder if his antics last year at Manchester City have played a role in that. Hull City will struggle and are a favorite to be relegated. Phil Brown will not make it through the season.
What team efficiently and rather cheaply upgraded their strike force? Due to their geographic location Sunderland is hardly a desired destination but chairman Nial Quinn and new manager Steve Bruce made a couple of nice signings, picking up Darren Bent and Frazier Campbell for the same amount that Manchester City paid for Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn. Sure Bent had a rough go at Tottenham under Harry Rednkapp including a miss that his "missus" could have made, but he was their leading scorer last year with 17 goals in all competitions. Prior to that he was a proven scorer at Ipswich and Charlton Athletic and he'll be a solid addition at Sunderland. In Campbell Sunderland gets a young player he may have had a down year last season on loan at Tottenham but impressed two years ago in the Hull battle for promotion. For a decent sum Quinn and Bruce pick up a striker who can produce now and one that is promising for the future all at a reasonable cost.
What Premier League club should have "sold the other guy"? Per Mr. Bent Tottenham should have cut their losses and got rid of Roman Pavlyuchenko and kept Bent. They still might unload the Russian and at this point if I were Harry I'd take whatever I can get for him. Save a few gimmes he produced very little during his first season at White Hart Lane other than doing a whole bunch of complaining. With the return of Crouchie, Defoe and Keane is there going to be a place for him anyway? Who needs a malcontent?
What will be the signing of the season (offensive edition)? The signing of the season will be Michael Owen. Were else can a defending champion acquire such a proven goal scorer on a free transfer? Owen will provide the additional depth for smaller EPL fixtures, the Carling Cup and the FA Cup as well as a nice change of pace off the bench for the big fixtures and the Champions League. I don't think Fergie is all that far off in pegging Owen for 25 appearances and 15 goals.
What will be the signing of the season (defensive edition)? Arsenal made a great and cost effective (10 million) move for Ajax captain Thomas Vermaelen. He'll fit right into central defense and not make the club worry one bit about the loss of Kolo Toure.
What will be the dullest team to watch this season? Without a doubt it will be Birmingham City who adopted last year and most likely adopt this year a style that makes Stoke City look like Arsenal. Whatever it takes to stay up I say.
What much maligned player will thrive this year and win the fans over? Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian with the sublime touch will form a winning partnership with Rooney and win a good number of the United fans over who prefer Carlos Tevez. The absence of Ronaldo should benefit Berbatov as much as anyone, allowing him to come up high and utilize his touch and playmaking abilities.
Who's form will cement a move to a big club? Wigan's Lee Cattermole will continue his rise in prominence and in the eyes of the England public. His throwback style and strong work rate will continue to make him one of the bigger up and comers in the league. It won't be long before he moves to a bigger club. Also I picked up for my fantasy team so I'm hoping big rewards at a low price.
What player has become so "underrated" that he's officially "rated"? One of my favorite non Aston Villa players who's hard work and clear improvement has made him the go to guy for every "underrated" Premier League player article. So at this point he's either overrated or rated but you can hardly call him underrated any more. His versatility and work rate will find him in the lineup consistently on the weekend and on many the European night.
What under-20 English player will rise to prominence this year? None other than former Leeds player Fabian Delph who will find a consistent spot in the midfield for Aston Villa and help the team move on from the Gareth Barry era. He'll prove to be more than just a YouTube legend.
Will Liverpool contend for the top spot or settle for comfortable third? It's going to be a two-horse race between Chelsea and Manchester United. The loss of Alonso and uncertainty in defense will hurt Liverpool early. The two rivals above are just too deep and too talented. Liverpool will have to settle for European success, which isn't all that bad.
What club really needs their Middle Eastern money to kick in and kick in fast? Portsmouth in the middle of a mad spending spree and waiting for the new UAE ownership group to get approval. The question is whether the group can get approved and get hold of the club in order to spend some money in the January transfer window to stave off relegation. They can't possibly expect Mark Viduka to save them. Can they?
Finally, how is the table going to look? Kind of like this:
1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
5. Aston Villa
6. Manchester City
7. Everton
8. Tottenham
9. Fulham
10. West Ham
11. Sunderland
12. Bolton
13. Stoke City
14. Wigan
15. Blackburn
16. Burnley
17. Wolves
18. Birmingham City
19. Hull City
20. Portsmouth
What player will be the story of the year in the Premier League? With Christiano Ronaldo in Madrid Wayne Rooney will step up and fulfill all expecations of greatness that he's carried since his mid-teens. He'll form a tough combination with Dimitar Berbatov and take his game to the next level as he creatively and doggedly creates chance after chance for United.
If Manchester City isn't going to contend for the top four, who will? The top four will again remain the same. Tottenham will be more consistent, Everton will be as consistent as ever and a young Aston Villa team will continue to contend. Still, in the end, the top four will remain the same with Arsenal easily holding off the fifth place club.
Who will be the breakout player this season? The breakout player of the season will be a guy who kinda sorta broke out last season, Andre Arshavin. Arsenal won't miss Adebayor all that much as Arshavin will become even more of a household name for English football fans.
What manager will be the first to go? I'm not sure there's going to be a sack race. Although Mark Hughes will be under a lot of pressure the clear obvious pick is Phil Brown. It's clear the club has had trouble attracting players this season and you wonder if his antics last year at Manchester City have played a role in that. Hull City will struggle and are a favorite to be relegated. Phil Brown will not make it through the season.
What team efficiently and rather cheaply upgraded their strike force? Due to their geographic location Sunderland is hardly a desired destination but chairman Nial Quinn and new manager Steve Bruce made a couple of nice signings, picking up Darren Bent and Frazier Campbell for the same amount that Manchester City paid for Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn. Sure Bent had a rough go at Tottenham under Harry Rednkapp including a miss that his "missus" could have made, but he was their leading scorer last year with 17 goals in all competitions. Prior to that he was a proven scorer at Ipswich and Charlton Athletic and he'll be a solid addition at Sunderland. In Campbell Sunderland gets a young player he may have had a down year last season on loan at Tottenham but impressed two years ago in the Hull battle for promotion. For a decent sum Quinn and Bruce pick up a striker who can produce now and one that is promising for the future all at a reasonable cost.
What Premier League club should have "sold the other guy"? Per Mr. Bent Tottenham should have cut their losses and got rid of Roman Pavlyuchenko and kept Bent. They still might unload the Russian and at this point if I were Harry I'd take whatever I can get for him. Save a few gimmes he produced very little during his first season at White Hart Lane other than doing a whole bunch of complaining. With the return of Crouchie, Defoe and Keane is there going to be a place for him anyway? Who needs a malcontent?
What will be the signing of the season (offensive edition)? The signing of the season will be Michael Owen. Were else can a defending champion acquire such a proven goal scorer on a free transfer? Owen will provide the additional depth for smaller EPL fixtures, the Carling Cup and the FA Cup as well as a nice change of pace off the bench for the big fixtures and the Champions League. I don't think Fergie is all that far off in pegging Owen for 25 appearances and 15 goals.
What will be the signing of the season (defensive edition)? Arsenal made a great and cost effective (10 million) move for Ajax captain Thomas Vermaelen. He'll fit right into central defense and not make the club worry one bit about the loss of Kolo Toure.
What will be the dullest team to watch this season? Without a doubt it will be Birmingham City who adopted last year and most likely adopt this year a style that makes Stoke City look like Arsenal. Whatever it takes to stay up I say.
What much maligned player will thrive this year and win the fans over? Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian with the sublime touch will form a winning partnership with Rooney and win a good number of the United fans over who prefer Carlos Tevez. The absence of Ronaldo should benefit Berbatov as much as anyone, allowing him to come up high and utilize his touch and playmaking abilities.
Who's form will cement a move to a big club? Wigan's Lee Cattermole will continue his rise in prominence and in the eyes of the England public. His throwback style and strong work rate will continue to make him one of the bigger up and comers in the league. It won't be long before he moves to a bigger club. Also I picked up for my fantasy team so I'm hoping big rewards at a low price.
What player has become so "underrated" that he's officially "rated"? One of my favorite non Aston Villa players who's hard work and clear improvement has made him the go to guy for every "underrated" Premier League player article. So at this point he's either overrated or rated but you can hardly call him underrated any more. His versatility and work rate will find him in the lineup consistently on the weekend and on many the European night.
What under-20 English player will rise to prominence this year? None other than former Leeds player Fabian Delph who will find a consistent spot in the midfield for Aston Villa and help the team move on from the Gareth Barry era. He'll prove to be more than just a YouTube legend.
Will Liverpool contend for the top spot or settle for comfortable third? It's going to be a two-horse race between Chelsea and Manchester United. The loss of Alonso and uncertainty in defense will hurt Liverpool early. The two rivals above are just too deep and too talented. Liverpool will have to settle for European success, which isn't all that bad.
What club really needs their Middle Eastern money to kick in and kick in fast? Portsmouth in the middle of a mad spending spree and waiting for the new UAE ownership group to get approval. The question is whether the group can get approved and get hold of the club in order to spend some money in the January transfer window to stave off relegation. They can't possibly expect Mark Viduka to save them. Can they?
Finally, how is the table going to look? Kind of like this:
1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
5. Aston Villa
6. Manchester City
7. Everton
8. Tottenham
9. Fulham
10. West Ham
11. Sunderland
12. Bolton
13. Stoke City
14. Wigan
15. Blackburn
16. Burnley
17. Wolves
18. Birmingham City
19. Hull City
20. Portsmouth
Friday, August 7, 2009
Real Madrid in Toronto and the rise of La Liga
Twenty-five minutes into the match versus Toronto FC and its pretty clear what all the hubbub is about. The retooled Galacticos are making their Canadian debut and its hard not to be impressed. The critics will point to the previous Florentino Peres grand experiment and how it arguably didn't work, but it's going to be hard to compare that group to this one. When your attack force combines two of arguably the top three players in the world it's hard to imagine a lack of success. A third of the way into the match tonight and Christiano Ronaldo has scored once with Raul scoring twice. Two of the goals resulted from impeccable offensive link ups with the second one a testament to the all-around skill and brilliance of Ronaldo. Heading down a long pass to Karim Benzema, the reigning World Player of the Year cut inside and slotted home a well placed pass from Benzema, coolly sending it past the goalkeeper. One of the most compelling stories of the Spanish season is whether this talent can be molded together. Early signs, especially from Toronto, is that the likes of Raul, Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema, etc. won't have any issues playing together. The talent is at such a level that players such as Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, who many a fan would give their left nut to have on their team, look to be at best sub players with the acquisition of Xabi Alonso.
What an amazing transformation for La Liga. In the span three months and one UEFA Champions League final they go from the second greatest league in the world to arguably the best league in the world--- or at least the league with the two best clubs in the world. Mix in one part Barcelona championship dominance, one part deep Real Madrid pockets and one part 50% top tax rate and the Premier League is reeling. Chelsea do look mighty fine thus far this preseason but you have to admit the league that had three of the final four Champions League clubs is looking a bit tarnished. Liverpool were forced to lose Alonso, Man U is without Christiano Ronaldo and Arsenal continue to lose key contributors. Meanwhile in Spain you have the hottest league in the world. Real Madrid and Barcelona sell out stadiums in North American like they're the beatles. Athletico Madrid and Villareal have exciting aggressive attacking talent and somehow Valencia holds on (so far) to David Silva and David Villa. This very well could be the year that the Premier League goes down a notch.
Stay Tuned.
What an amazing transformation for La Liga. In the span three months and one UEFA Champions League final they go from the second greatest league in the world to arguably the best league in the world--- or at least the league with the two best clubs in the world. Mix in one part Barcelona championship dominance, one part deep Real Madrid pockets and one part 50% top tax rate and the Premier League is reeling. Chelsea do look mighty fine thus far this preseason but you have to admit the league that had three of the final four Champions League clubs is looking a bit tarnished. Liverpool were forced to lose Alonso, Man U is without Christiano Ronaldo and Arsenal continue to lose key contributors. Meanwhile in Spain you have the hottest league in the world. Real Madrid and Barcelona sell out stadiums in North American like they're the beatles. Athletico Madrid and Villareal have exciting aggressive attacking talent and somehow Valencia holds on (so far) to David Silva and David Villa. This very well could be the year that the Premier League goes down a notch.
Stay Tuned.
EPL on ESPN for 2009/2010? Immediately? Fantastic.
According to EPL Talk ESPN has picked up the English Premier League for the immediate upcoming season and will broadcast games starting on Saturday the 15th with the Hull City vs. Chelsea match. Immediate exposure for Jozy Altidore at his new team which will obviously benefit US soccer and another huge win for the sport in the United States. I've long wondered why ESPN didn't go after the league earlier with the success they had in the past with the Champions League. The timing of the games are perfect, I can't imagine there's anything else they could put in the 7:45 AM Saturday time slot and get anywhere near the ratings they'll get for the EPL. This has to be a winner for the Premier League as well with additional exposure in the US media market. This takes ESPN a step further towards being the true worldwide leader in sports.
The one negative is that it probably doesn't help MLS all that much. The EPL ratings will likely dwarf the paltry MLS ratings and give ESPN yet another reason to shift their soccer broadcasting allegiance toward the European Leagues. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the coming year. With the runaway success of the Barcelona trip to the US this past week (over 150,000 fans at two matches) and the Galactico era underway at Real Madrid I wouldn't be surprised to see a move to get the La Liga matches on in the US in English. As noted in the EPL Talk article there is already speculation that the Bundesliga could be making it's way to ESPN in the US as well.
It seems its not finalized quite yet, but what a fantastic day to be a soccer fan in the US. Hopefully the ESPN move will pressure FSC to move to Hi Def as soon as possible since I'm assuming the ESPN2 matches, like the Champions League, will be in glorious Hi Def.
The one negative is that it probably doesn't help MLS all that much. The EPL ratings will likely dwarf the paltry MLS ratings and give ESPN yet another reason to shift their soccer broadcasting allegiance toward the European Leagues. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the coming year. With the runaway success of the Barcelona trip to the US this past week (over 150,000 fans at two matches) and the Galactico era underway at Real Madrid I wouldn't be surprised to see a move to get the La Liga matches on in the US in English. As noted in the EPL Talk article there is already speculation that the Bundesliga could be making it's way to ESPN in the US as well.
It seems its not finalized quite yet, but what a fantastic day to be a soccer fan in the US. Hopefully the ESPN move will pressure FSC to move to Hi Def as soon as possible since I'm assuming the ESPN2 matches, like the Champions League, will be in glorious Hi Def.
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