Jose has Left the Building

Jose Mourinho has left Chelsea. As much as everyone has their negative comments about him, I am absolutely certain his presence will be missed. Let's take a pictorial journey on the impression he left on the Premier League.

Amidst the Blue revival under Roman Abramovich, a certain someone who won the Champions League with an unfancied Porto side was hired to replace Claudio Rainieri. He called himself The Special One, and from this picture, it isn't hard to see why. Armed with Roman's billions, to spend on transfers, he began his reign.


In the flurry of criticisms and hatred, he silenced every one by winning the Premier League and the League Cup, reaching the semi-final stages of the Champions League in the process. He has gone on to win one more League title and League Cup, one FA Cup, and one Community Shield in his 3 full seasons with Chelsea. Chelsea are currently unbeaten at home for a record 67 games in a row. Such are his achievements.




In his time at Chelsea, he has shown himself to have interesting character traits. The most attention-grabbing is his inability to lose with grace. Blaming everyone from the referee, his assistants, the FA, buses parked in front of goals, lunch...whatever. Sometimes he has a point, sometimes he doesn't. One thing's for sure, he usually gives the opponent the credit they deserve. One legacy he did leave behind is his stylish goal celebrations at the dugout, sometimes he even displays nonchalance. Nothing less from the Special One.




His antics were fodder for the press, who lapped up his every word and action. Every facial expression, every comment made, every mis-step was scrutinized. It was a field day for the media personnel covering any Chelsea event. Every reporter's dream.



All said and done, Jose is one polished Portuguese. His boyish looks, manly charms, sharp suits, sexy accent and the air of confidence around him left many women hot on their couches. He does have his off days though, but generally, he was hot enough.



And things began turning sour. His relationship with Roman turned frigid. I would say, it all started with the arrival of Andriy Shevchenko, Roman's good friend. Things snowballed and didn't look good at the end of last season. Roman's ominous departure in the recent 2-0 defeat against Villa spelled trouble. The support of his players, and the success he had was not enough to make him immune from the chop. More of an issue of personal differences than anything else, Mourinho was made to leave.



He carried the team on his shoulders, and wore his heart on his sleeve. He was extremely popular with the players, media and his own fans. I am certain he has converted many a hater in his time at Chelsea. And I am proud to say that I am one of them. The Premier League will never be the same without him. He will be missed. Will we see him in action on the sidelines in England for another team? Spurs are actively looking for a manager and they could hire him. But I feel it is unlikely that he will stay in the UK. If Spurs does hire Ramos from Sevilla, Mourinho could be moving to sunny Spain. Anyway, Jose has certainly left the building.

The Foe?

Name: Jermain Colin Defoe

Height: 1.70m

Date of birth: 07-10-1982

Position: Forward

Nationality: England

Tottenham Hotspur

Appearance (Substitute) - Goals

League: 85 (40) - 39

FA Cup: 7 (4) - 5

League Cup: 8 (2) – 9

Other: 2 (3) – 3

Jermain Defoe was a youth product of Charlton where he impressed enough to be purchased by then West Ham boss Harry Redknapp for a fee of £1.15million in 1999; he was only 19 years old then. In his 5 years at Upton Park he netted 51 goals and when The Hammers went down in 2003, it was almost inevitable that someone one of his quality would have no lack of suitors. Thus he followed the West Ham exodus of that season and joined Tottenham Hotspur for a hefty fee of £7million in 2004. This move saw him make his England senior debut as a substitute in March of the same year in a 1-0 defeat to Sweden. He subsequently handed his first start in a World Cup qualifying match against Poland in September 2004, scoring in a 2-1 win. He has clocked up 22 more caps after this and scoring 2 more goals. Blessed with quick feet, lightning reaction and explosive finishing, many people would have tipped him to achieve great things. This is precisely why I decided to devote an entire article to him.

He has made 5 league appearances for Spurs this season, all as a substitute. In his 24 international caps for England, he only started four of those games, with the rest as a cameo substitute. Sven brought an unfit Rooney and an untested 17 year old Walcott rather than a raring-to-go Defoe for the World Cup last year. In short, Defoe’s recent fortune with selection could be described as pitiful. Why is that so? Let’s look at the situation in both Spurs and England to have a better idea.

There are currently 4 forwards in the Tottenham setup – Berbatov, Keane, Bent and Defoe. You could say each has their own strengths and weaknesses but neither are goal scoring machines unless you count Berbatov’s 23 goal haul in all competitions last season as being prolific. He is the only one, I would have to say, that would be the only confirmed name on the team sheet in the forwards department. Keane’s strengths are his intelligence and creativity, leadership qualities, as well as his ability to score amazing goals to rouse his team mates. He would be second on the team sheet. This leaves Jermain Defoe and a £16.5million Bent on the bench.

One note on Bent; he has pace, strength, and aerial ability. But he is only slightly above average in those departments, and that arguably makes him a mediocre player. You could say he scored lots of goals during his time at Charlton but being the lone man up-front for the Addicks would mean he would have the most and best opportunities to become their top goal-scorer. After all that rambling, I will just sum up the player, which cost Spurs £0.5million more than what Barcelona paid for Theirry Henry, in one word – overrated.

With Tottenham involved in the domestic league, FA and League Cup competitions, and the Uefa Cup, there is supposed to be a host of games to keep each forward happy. The problem here lies in the international status of both Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe. Both are on the fringes of the team and need match time in order to impress and keep sharp. Playing bit-parts in competitions inferior to the League or Uefa competitions would definitely frustrate, or could even be detrimental to these players, who are of certain quality and expectation.

The fact that Spurs have got off to a poor start has pressured Martin Jol to keep the existing strikeforce of Berbatov and Keane. The only time this partnership was changed was against Derby when Bent was handed a starting place, ahead of Defoe. It was perhaps the fact that Defoe and Keane were never able to successfully play together that prompted Jol to make such a decision.

What this could mean for Defoe on the club level is increasing disappointment on the bench. This would affect his already dim international future. England usually employs a dual forward system and this would normally mean calling up 4-5 of them. In the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel, McClaren called up Alan Smith, Michael Owen, Emile Heskey, Andrew Johnson and Jermain Defoe. Well-known for his liking of pairing a target-man with a speedy player, it would be a good guess to say that Heskey and Owen are the most likely to start.

A few words on McClaren (as you can see, I love to digress). I have always felt he has achieved nothing in club level for him to deserve a job like managing England. Owen is a paler shade of his old self, after losing his speed and agility after coming back from his long term injury. But yet, he is one of McClaren’s favourites. In my opinion, it would be logical to start Emile Heskey and Andy Johnson up front as the latter is in good form compared to Alan Smith (who is deployed as a centre-midfielder in Newcastle) and Jermain Defoe (who has a serious lack of match practice). Owen’s place in the squad should be given up to someone like Ashley Young or Gabriel Agbonlahor (both of whom have been putting in decent displays for Villa), since I feel his abilities and form does not warrant him a place. In essence, he is as daft a manager (tactically) as you can get.

Back to Defoe. It is unlikely he will play any part in this game as I see Andy Johnson coming before him in the pecking order, and putting 4 forwards on the field at the same time would only happen if England were down 1-0 with 15 minutes to go. And with Rooney and Crouch unavailable, Defoe’s England chances look bleak.

What now for this young man? To me at least, his abilities as a forward are undeniable and my heart aches to see such footballing injustice being done. My honest opinion is that he should move on to a club that will guarantee him regular first team action, and that England needs a new (read: more competent) manager for his talents to be recognized and put in better use. He should be least playing a more integral role rather than the plug-filling function that he is right now.

With such talent and promise, one can only lament the state that Defoe is in right now. I wish him all the best.

Fragility

The practical aspect of sport is commonly associated with health, happiness and personal/group satisfaction. However the recent death of Sevilla’s Antonio Puerta has once again reminded us the fragility of life, and the obvious paradox.

This certainly rings a bell with Marc-Vivien Foé and his passing away. My sources tell me that there is some sort of distortion of what really happened to him. The official story is that he had an enlarged right ventricle, which made cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation the likely cause of death. Apparently Foé had been taking performance enhancing drugs prior to the time of his death, and I was told that this is common practice for professional players at the highest level. This apparently has something to do with his death. I must state that the nature and legality of the alleged supplement he was consuming are not known to me.

There are risks when you are priming the body to be in its best condition to perform and entertain, through hard work and supplements. Untold and unknown side-effects which are still being researched today can cause physical and psychological harm. R.I.P. Chris Benoit, Antonio Puerta, Marc-Vivien Foé and the countless others who devoted their lives to sporting excellence as well as entertainment of the masses, and paid a price for it. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.

BPL Game Week 4 Preview

This week’s game in focus is Bolton hosting Reading at the Reebok. Sammy Lee desperately needs a result tonight so let’s take a look at his prospects.

Bolton v Reading

Three straight losses and Lil’ Sammy is the fore-runner in the race to get sack first. His attempts in altering the system that work so well under the more illustrious Sam seem to reap little, if any, rewards. Such is the distress in the dressing room that Anelka and Diouf have both invoked rumours of moving elsewhere. He does possess a decent team that could produce better results under different circumstances. Nolan needs to pick him and the team up, and drive them forward. The key concern is the evidently frail defense that has not filled the void left by Ben-Haim. It is now or never for Sammy

Reading on the other hand is having an excellent start to the season. 4 points from a possible 9, 6 of which came against Chelsea and Manchester United. The win was no walk in the park either, against a resurgent Everton side. They look initially good for a squad that has relatively mediocre paper quality. Their strength lies not in the team but in their manager. Steve Coppell is achieving as a manager, what he was not able to as a player after retiring prematurely. But there is only so much a manager can do.

Losing twice to Reading last season, Bolton will be looking to exact revenge and get their first proper result of the season.

Last Season’s Head-2-Head

English Premier Bolton Wanderers 1-3 Reading 21-04-2007

English Premier Reading 1-0 Bolton Wanderers 02-12-2006

Score Prediction: Bolton 1-0 Reading

Final Notes: Sammy will get his first win tonight to ease the pressure off him, and his team. Reading has flown high enough, and what goes up must come down.

Fun-Pix (1)

Big Sam and Lil' Sammy

An excellent picture I picked off Guardian. Many meanings and lotsa laughs. Been a tad busy with commitments, will be back with the usual dose real soon. Till then...

BPL Game Week 3 Preview: Part II

Three sizzling Sunday matches awaits as the three big teams that played last Sunday, will again play this Sunday in overlapping times. Let’s take a quick look at the three games and size up how each team should do.

Manchester City vs Manchester United

City has a 100% start to the season so far but against arguably lesser opponents. This is where the real test comes. A United side still looking for their first win of the season travel just a couple of miles to the City of Manchester Stadium in what is a familiar yet hostile environment will be out to kill. Other than the absence of Isaksson, Sven virtually has a full strength squad to choose from and looking at the past two matches, they will probably play a 4-5-1 formation without much change to the personnel on the pitch. We all know David Dunne is susceptible to pace and how he handles Tevez will determine whether City can hold on for a draw. Expect to see a goal contrived by Petrov and/or Bianchi and/or Elano, the backbone of City’s attack.

Manchester United’s cursed start to the season continues with Rooney out for extended periods and Ronaldo suspended for three matches. The team that is to be put out is still reasonable by United’s standards, but once again the question is can they score more than they will invariably concede? Tevez particularly would play in a big role in this game as I feel most of the pressure of not having Rooney and Ronaldo will rest on his shoulders. He will revel in being the focal point of attack and should create space for Scholes, Giggs and Nani to do their stuff. Ferdinand may find trouble handling the strength and presence of Bianchi and he should be thankful that he has Vidic by his side.

Score Prediction: Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United

Final Notes: The only reason why I think United will win this is the fact that if they do not, alarm bells will certainly start ringing. City though, could spring a surprise.

Blackburn vs Arsenal

Blackburn is a team whose pre-season started earlier as they were involved in the Inter-Toto competition. This could mean the team peaking earlier than the others and could put them in good stead against Arsenal. The challenge for Mark Hughes is to maintain the team’s performance throughout the season and not let them peak too early and die off late into the campaign. Bright starts from Derbyshire and Santa Cruz in the first game could see either or both starting in this match. They look reasonable in all departments so far and have a variety of options going forward. Pedersen should be running the show for them again tonight.

Arsenal’s youths came back from a goal down last week to clinch the game against Fulham but this is a different ball game all together. They will have to stay focused and disciplined throughout the game if they were to get any result from this fixture. Eduardo has yet to play and I believe everyone is excited to see him in action. Jens Lehmann needs to sort himself out and put in a sound and confident performance this week to make up for last week’s gaffe, and the same goes to the entire defense that looked shaky at times, making uncharacteristic mistakes.

Score Prediction: Blackburn 2-1 Arsenal

Final Notes: Blackburn is a team already in gear while Arsenal’s still trying to sort themselves out defensively. The Gunners are good for a goal and could force a draw, but I see Blackburn putting in a competent performance to clinch this one.

Liverpool vs Chelsea

Liverpool sees this as a good chance to inflict a blow on Chelsea’s title challenge and proclaim their own as they face an injury-hit squad that looks suspect in defense, especially when Liverpool have the likes of Torres and Gerrard pushing forward. Terry’s possible inclusion will be a much welcomed sight. As much as I see Liverpool scoring, I also foresee that the Liverpool defense will not be able to handle Didier Drogba and he will cause a lot of problems for them.

Both teams have recent history against one another, and Benitez and Mourinho are not exactly the best of pals. I expect this to be a hot-blooded affair as a victory for either team will be a big step towards claiming the title. The one-on-one match ups of the night that will be interesting for the fans are – Lampard-Gerrard, Carvalho-Torres, Drogba-Agger pairings. Glen Johnson will have to contain an explosive Riise too if Chelsea were to get anything out of this game and the same goes for the Liverpool defense in handling the threat that Malouda poses.

Score Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea

Final Notes: I feel both teams will score, and the match will likely end up a draw. But I could not help but hope for a Liverpool victory to make the race for the title that little bit more interesting.

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Three big games in three time slots that overlap, how stupid. Oh well, we make the best of what we can and maybe what we can do is watch the game that interests us the most. So much for the promise of better quality for increased rates. Anyway, have a good night catching the games, and a good working week ahead. Melvin, out...

BPL Game Week 3 Preview: Part I

While everyone’s attention will be on the big clash between Liverpool and Chelsea on Sunday, I have decided to focus on solely one match that would be of almost equivalent significance but has been overshadowed by the Red vs Blue encounter – Newcastle vs Aston Villa. Both are decent teams with good managers who should both be aiming for Europe this season, and both deserve decent media coverage, as much as that big encounter.

Newcastle vs Aston Villa

Newcastle

The Magpies may be missing quite a few first team players like Duff, Barton and Babayaro but the figure whose inability to feature tonight could have a major bearing on the result is Shay Given. When the defense finally looks like they have moved on from the Boumsong-Bramble days, they will be without their steady custodian. Steve Harper may be a reasonable talent, but the variety that the Villa attack has means he would have to handle shots from all over the pitch, crosses and headers. How he performs tonight would determine how many Villa can score.

Sam Alladyce has developed a unique footballing philosophy that brought success to Bolton and here at Newcastle, he has managed to assemble a team that could outshine his achievements at the Reebok. Compact, disciplined, hard and patient while defending and when they get the ball, they have several options. They could throw the ball out wide to N’Zogbia or Milner to attack down the flanks or drop balls behind the full-backs for them to chase, go route one towards Viduka who could play off to Martins, hold the ball up or barge forward on his own, or they could build up from the middle and look to play the ball into space for Martins to pounce on. This is the variety of options up front that makes Newcastle so dangerous and when combined with Big Sam’s belief in making full use of their set-pieces, it will arguably be a complete strategy.

He brought fans expectations to a new high, which has never been higher since they purchased Alan Shearer and the excellent start to the season certainly brings much promise. Mark my words: Newcastle is one of the few teams in the league that will be able to have a hand on how the title race is decided as they are capable of springing surprises on every single one of the Big 5.

Newcastle Probable 11: Harper, Geremi, Taylor, Rozehnal, Carr, N’Zogbia, Milner, Butt, Smith, Viduka, Martins

Strengths: Variety of options up-front, disciplined, excellent manager

Weakness: No Shay Given

Aston Villa

This could be billed as the Battle of the Gaffers as both teams seems equally matched on paper and it could go down to the managers to separate the two teams. Villa has an arguably better first team who moves forward quite similarly to Newcastle. The difference is that Newcastle has two holding midfield players, one of which is allowed to join in the attack, and plays two forwards, while Villa has only one holding midfielder and plays one forward.

Agbonlahor looked ordinary in Villa’s opening game and it was Ashley Young who came up with an inspired second-half performance to be a nuisance against Liverpool. John Carew should have a better outing this time round as I foresee Geremi and Taylor having problems handling his strength and presence. The weak-link in Villa when facing Newcastle could be Wilfred Bouma and O’Neil will be hoping his experience will be able to make up for his lack of pace against Milner.

Scott Carson should come in and start in goal after completing his loan move to replace the injured Sorensen, and would relish the chance to impress McClaren and make a claim for a spot in England’s European challenge. Another player that I expect to make an impact tonight for Villa is Petrov but contending with the two holding midfielders that Newcastle deploys could pose a problem. The key to victory in this game for Villa is how Carew conducts himself, and how much his teammates are able to get him involved tonight.

Aston Villa Probable 11: Carson, Mellberg, Laursen, Bouma, Gardner, Barry, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Young, Agbonlahor, Carew

Strengths: Creativity in the middle, John Carew’s presence, excellent man-manager

Weaknesses: Depth in squad, pace on the wide of defense

Score Prediction: Newcastle 2-2 Aston Villa

Final Notes: I actually fancy Big Sam getting a result on his home debut, but his defense showed they were shaky handling the likes of Davis in the first game against Bolton and now they face an even stronger opponent in the form of John Carew. Villa should grind out a result after their disappointment against Liverpool last week. Goals should be scored by both teams and I expect an exciting match.

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Ok I was just kidding when I said I would overlook the massive match between Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as a certain Manchester derby. They will be previewed tomorrow. Till then, enjoy the action tonight. Melvin, out...