Hull City join Cardiff in the Premier League

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May 5, 2013

They did it! A 2-2 draw was enough as Leeds beat Watford to ensure it was Hull that would be joining Cardiff in the premier league. Dubbed the £100million game due to additional advertising revenues and crowd attendance.

Steve Bruce should be given all the credit. Written off after being sacked by Sunderland he has once again made his critics eat their own words. Bruce is a good manager but underrated and so has had to manage small teams. He is like Sam Allardyce in the sense that he always offers either promotion from the championship (as guaranteed) and usually a mid tabe finish in the premier league.

Hull will have to strengthen wisely if they are to survive in the premier league.

Look at the team:

Stockdale

Chester McShane Faye

Elmohamady Boyd Meyler Quinn Rosenoir

Simpson Brady

Not much better than Reading and they have been relegated.

One thing can be counted… Bruce will know and has the experience of surviving in the Premier League on a shoestring budget. Look at Wigan as an example of how it can be done, don’t follow the QPR example of purchasing many expensive failures.

Chelsea through to the final of the Europa league to face Benfica

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May 5, 2013

Chelsea beat FC Basle 3-1. Goals from Fernando Torres, Victor Moses and David Luiz secured victory. Chelsea were just too strong for Basle making short work of them. Spurs supporters will be wondering what went wrong when they played Basle. Chelsea will face Benfica in the final. Rafa Benitez has done a great job and chelsea fans should be grateful but Jose Mourinho has given the strongest indication yet that he will be managing chelsea next season at the end of an interview with ITV. Asked if he will be at Real Madrid next season to try to win the champions league he said “Maybe not”, adding “I want to be at a club where the fans love me.” Which other club supporters love him more than those at Chelsea? Also which club in England will have an opening during the summer? The answer: Chelsea.

Watch this space.

Bayern Munich now the best team in the world? New era of German dominance in Europe.

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May 5, 2013

After the final destruction of Barcelona is it now time to talk of this being the Bayern Munich era of dominance? Bayern Muncih have now reached two successive champions league finals. Barcelona have failed to reach the final in that time. Jupp Heynckes has built a very strong team, a strong defensive core with Manuel Neuer and Javi Martinez , a mesmerising offense with the likes of Schweinsteiger, Robben and Ribery supplying goals and assists, with the attack headed by the brilliant Thomas Muller and Mario Gomez or Mandzukic. To think that Bayern are soon to be managed by the genius that is Pep Guardiola and more signings promised such as Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski to supplement an already fine team it is hard to see anyone other than Bayern dominating the near future.

The English Premier League is currently in a cyclical decline, it reached its peak when the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo was playing for Man Utd and Xabi Alonso for Liverpool. The fact that these players left the Premier League to join the Primera Liga signalled the decline of the Premier League and the rise of the Spanish League. Pep Guardiola leaving Barca to join Bayern Munich and the symbolic thrashing of the spanish giants by the german giants signals the batton being passed to the German League. A new era of German dominance awaits us. Seria A may be in an irreversible decline. No longer attracting the big money, no longer the best league in the world. Juventus are the exception, they have restructured very well since their disgrace and relegation to seria b. They sold off big wage earners and old players and rebuilt the team just as they moved into their own stadium which has generated extra profits to invest in the team.

The premier league should rise again, it seems only to be a cyclical decline. Man City have enough money to start challenging for the Champions League in the future and the team is young enough to develop in the way Bayern Munich have, so long as City players build a strong team spirit. Too much money can destroy team spirit and be disasterous just look at QPR.

Man Utd are building a strong team but there are always question marks over what will happen when Alex Ferguson leaves. Chelsea have enough investment to become strong again as Hazard, Mata and Oscar can only get better as players. Liverpool are also rebuilding with strong young players like Sturridge and Coutinho. Tottenham Hotspurs possess Bale arguably the third best player in the world behind Messi and Ronaldo.

Sports Insoles are good for avoiding injuries and running in comfort.

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April 27, 2013

Just started running again. Purchased some great sports insoles. They are specially designed orthotic insoles, that support the arch of the foot. What does this all mean? It means that when you run hard, you dont wear out the joints and cause yourself more harm than good. You avoid common running injuries such as achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and so on. That means you can run longer, train the cardiovascular system more effectively and get better at your sport or running in marathons. Remove the cheap rubbish insole from your favourite pair of trainers and add sports insoles, you will not regret it. Unrivalled comfort, cushioning and support. Wish I had bought these sooner.

Next seasons transfers: Robert Lewandowski to Man Utd, Steven Jovetic to Arsenal?

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April 26, 2013

It appears that Manchester United should be in pole position to sign Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund. Lewandowski was brilliant last wednesday against Real Madrid scoring all 4 of Dortmunds goals. Fergie has been looking to sign the polish striker since last summer. Whilst Lewandowski’s brilliant performance vindicates Fergies judgement on the striker, Fergie will not be pleased as his perfomance probably adds another £10million to the asking price. Now Europes elite will take a closer look and a bidding war could ensue.

Why are Manchester United in pole position? Most big teams can only afford to bring in 1 elite big signing every season. The biggest rivals for Lewandowski signature are Bayern Munich but they announced they were bringing in Mario Gotze from Dortmund for a cool 32million which should bring an end to Bayerns summer transfer activity. Bayern already have Mario Gomez and Mandzukic on the books. Fergie going for Lewandowski may seem like a strange move, after all Fergie does have van Persie, Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck all to choose from so this signing if it goes through must indicate that one of there big players is about to leave. I would hazard a guess that it is maybe time that Wayne Rooney is to leave. Rooney has become a bit-part player this season, struggling for form, in the shadow of RVP. If Rooney does decide to leave it has been indicated that PSG will be looking to sign him. This suits Man Utd who would be loathe to sell him to a rival club.

Lewandowski and Van Persie leading the line for Man Utd is certainly a scary thought. You have two brilliant strikers capable of each scoring 30 goals a season, and then you can rotate Welbeck and Hernandez into the mix to keep the team fresh. This will strike fear into the rest of the premier league and should ensure another title next year and a push for champions league glory. The only question is – can they play together?

Man City will need to re-invent themselves if they are to catch up with Utd again next season. True they have been unlucky with results and injuries but also poor form. Aguero is a brilliant player but he hasn’t hit the heights of last season and is a reason why city have struggled this year to catch up with united. David Silva is another player that has lost his form from last season. Silva was quite rightly described as one of the best new players in the premier league last season, in a sense he was City’s ‘Messi’, whilst playing in a different style to messi, integral to everything that City did. Silva has fallen by the way side and he needs to be brought back to good form.

Man City may challenge united for the signing of Lewandowski but it appears that United have a headshot on this signing. Mancini however may prefer buying from his homeland of italy. Mancini has contacts there and is a familiar with that league. Edison Cavani comes to mind as a striker that could link well with Aguero. Cavani will want to join a team that can challenge for trophies and european glory, Napoli may not be able to make that promise.

Arsenal will be looking to build from this season. Arsene Wenger has plugged the gaps in midfield signing astutely, players such as Santi Cazorla have adapted well to the premier league. Next season however they will need to replace the goals they miss from Robin Van Persie. It is hoped that Steven Jovetic, the fiorentina striker, will be able to do this. Jovetic is a skillful creative striker that would complement well with the Arsenal way of football and it is hoped he will bring out the best in Lukas Podolski who has struggled to adapt to the premier league. Arsenal are also on the look out for a new goalkeeper and it is rumoured Pepe Reina is first choice.

NEXT SEASONS TEAMS

MAN UTD

De Gea

Butner Ferdinand Vidic Evra

Nani Kagawa Carrick Valencia

Van Persie Lewandowski

MAN CITY

Hart

Clichy Kompany Nasatic Zabaleta

Silva Toure Barry Nasri

Aguero Cavani

ARSENAL

Reina

Gibbs Koscielny Vermaelen Jenkinson

Wilshere Arteta

Walcott Cazorla

Podolski Jovetic

Where next for CHELSEA?

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April 26, 2013

Chelsea have just beaten FC Basle 2-1 at Basle, a brilliant result, so long as there are no foul ups, Chelsea should be in the Europa League final. Benitez is now well on the way to fixing his reputation that was tarnished by a poor final season at Liverpool and an even poorer spell at Inter Milan. However we all know that all managers at Chelsea can be classed as ‘interim’, nothing is permanent. Despite his good work Benitez will be out by the summer. It is rumoured that with Mourinho about to leave Real Madrid that this will give Benitez the opportunity to take charge in Madrid, a team he managed at the youth levels. Benitez knows Madrid well and has experience in high pressure big jobs and should be the outstanding candidate. Having said that Real can throw up unexpected surprises, Jurgen Klopp the Dortmund manager is much admired, as is Laudrup who having steared little Swansea to success would jump at a chance to impress on the big stage.

Chelsea will probably bring back Mourinho for a second spell so long as differences between Abramovich and Mourinho are settled. If Mourinho is given complete control of spending and the team then the return is assured. Mourinho feels he has unfinished business at Chelsea and would relish the chance to rebuild his team.

Rebuilding is certainly what would be required. Many managers have tried and failed, the old guard are still there, the new guard haven’t proven themselves yet. Of the new guard Juan Mata is the most impressive and will be integral to Mourinho’s plans. Oscar can develop into a fine player and will stay as will Eden Hazard, Ramires wasnt there when Mourinho was but is a mainstay of the team now. After that it is anybodys guess what Mourinho would do with the current team. The old guard are loyal to Jose and will probably stay but there influence and playing time would be reduced as they come to retirement.

Jose Mourinho will probably be looking at bringing in a focal point to the attack. During his time there it was Didier Drogba but now he is too old and has left the club so a new drogba is needed. I am sure Mourinho is aware of the qualities of Radamel Falcao and whilst a transfer from Atletico to Real Madrid is impossible, a transfer to Chelsea is not. Expect a big £50m move for him. Torres may be asked to leave to release extra funds, his big money move has not produced the desired results.

Mourinho teams are typically very robust and strong defensively. Attacking Chelsea are now strong but they need a new defensive midfielder to partner Ramires. This could be David Luiz playing in a restrained but advanced role, it could be a new player. Think of a Claude Makelele, or an Esteban Cambiasso, a tough no nonsense, combatitive athlete.

Mourinho teams are also known for there depth. Chelsea have become quite shallow since Ancelotti won his first title there. They have lost the depth of quality. You need to be able to field 2 equally strong seperate teams to be able to rotate the team to ensure freshness and the ability to compete on many different fronts. After the tweaks outlined, Mourinho will likely go for an additional quality defender, midfielder and attacker to ensure competition for places.

Andre Shurrle is a player that is being linked with Chelsea currently. The Bayer Leverkusen forward is favoured also by Dortmund if sales of there best players go through. He will cost £20m but has bags of potential and is a classy finisher.

Whatever happens, things are about to get interesting at Chelsea.

The decline of the best football team in the world?

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April 26, 2013

After being destroyed by Bayern Munch we now have to reconsider Barcelona’s unofficial position as the best football team in the world. Is it the end of an era for tica-taca? It feels like it. Whilst Barcelona are going to win the primera liga they have failed again to win the champions league. Tito Vilanova seems to be an overseer of an inevitable decline from the highs that Pep Guardiola granted them. However it doesn’t have to be this way, remember Guardiola took over a team in decline and reinvented them. He did the unthinkable and got rid of big name but old players like Deco and Ronaldinho to make way for hungry young players and reinvented the way they played.

Barcelona dont need a revolution, they need evolution. To transition from an old era to a new era. In Lionel Messi they still possess the best player in the world, he can single handedly win you a game. Messi is a one off, you dont get another one, but he is young and coming to his peak. Xavi however is old and his influence is waning, it is time to mould Cesc Fabregas into the role Xavi currently takes. The task to control the game and keep play ticking over.

Trouble makers and dead weights should be removed. If Gerard Pique is more interested in his celebrity girlfriend now and not serious about football then he should leave. David Villa should be sold, he has been left to rot on the bench and he earns a huge amount, he is still a very good player but his time to leave has come. Alex Song was a strange buy from Arsenal and has not done anything in his time at Barcelona to suggest he should stay for the long haul.

The defence needs sorting. Carles Puyol is too old, Mascherano was never a defender. Barcelonas defence is also too small, they are vulnerable to set pieces as Bayern Munich demonstrated time and again on Tuesday.

Replacements for the old guard can be brought in from the academy and developed, additional players outside the system of outstanding quality should be bought.

Suggested signings?

Robert Lewandowski FORWARD DORTMUND

Hummels DEFENDER DORTMUND

Silva MIDFIELDER MAN CITY

CHIELLINI DEFENDER JUVENTUS

Valdes

Alba Chiellini Hummels Alves

Fabregas Busquets

Messi Silva Iniesta

Lewandowski

See? Doesn’t this team strike fear into the hearts of mere mortals? Barcelona need adjusted and reinventing a bit but this doesn’t have to be the end of an era. With Messi in the team, the outstanding player of our generation, anything is possible.

Wage rift at QPR and a slide into the abyss

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April 26, 2013

On paper, QPR seem to have a better team than last year but find themselves relegated. What went wrong? The route of the problem seems to be a wage rift. The core of the team that helped QPR to promotion from the championship have been replaced and sidelined by mediocre mercenaries bought for high transfer fees and wages. On paper these players should be good enough to help QPR to a high mid table finish however they have not performed but do pick up the nice big fat cheques every week. This has destroyed the team spirit, there is now no team spirit at QPR. All the players are playing for themselves and not the club. QPR are in big trouble as they head to the championship, how can they afford mediocre players like Chris Samba on a reported 100k a week? Julio Cesar is on 80k a week. These are the wages for a team challenging for champions league positioning not a championship club. Tony Fernandes may be rich, but he is a fool and he will be a broke fool soon. Portsmouth tried the same kind of model and now they will be playing in the same division as Fleetwood Town and Accrington Stanley, bankrupt. I feel sorry for QPR fans, Warnock built a decent team that gained promotion and was building themselves steadily with a good team spirit, the team spirit has been ripped apart in an effort to acquire short term results, the ending will be a tragedy.

John Terry announces he wants to play for England again.

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April 26, 2013

I think he should be welcomed back. He retired because he felt the FA did not back him and he has been unfairly targeted by the FA despite all he has given for the cause. Dont forget John Terry is arguably the best english defender we have, it would be foolish to discard him in the name of political correctness on unfounded allegations from Anton Ferdinand, a thoroughly jealous and mediocre footballer.

Rio Ferdinand was given a chance to return but he snubbed Hodgson to go commentate for Al-Jazeera. Well good for you Mr Ferdinand, you were given your chance and you blew it. Hodgson should pick Terry now and forget about Ferdinand. Ferdinand may suddenly decide he wants to play but this would be a move that would upset the England teams morale.

How the changing economic situation could impact upon sport.

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April 26, 2013

We all know the eurozone is tearing itself apart. Now lets consider future scenarios just for fun and how they may relate to the world of sport. It is widely ackowledged that if the eurozone is to survive it will probably have to inflate the money supply. Inflation has the effect of reducing the value of money, thus debts are decreased as you can pay off old debts with bags of new cash generated by the printing press. What better way to destroy Greece, Spain, Italy and even Frances debt problems. A reduced value euro also has the added bonus of making exports cheap. You can quickly revert to a trade surplus with a nice bit of hyperinflation going on. Trade surplus can also be used to pay down debts and grow the economy.

WAIT! What? Zimbabwean Economics works? No I never said that, think of it as a last resort, it is like pandoras box, when you open it you dont know what can happen. People lose confidence fast and that confidence can be difficult to regain. Lost confidence makes it hard to attract outside investment in the future a precipitates a cycle of continued hyperinflation to fund public spending. Hyperinflation would be bad for Europe due to the amount of imports that come into Europe, we import everything from food to oil to consumer goods. If these go up in price then people are not going to be too pleased.

However hyperinflation may be the only way to get out of the snowballing debt cycle. The debt cycle is snowballing due to interest, you cant pay down the debt so the amount you have to pay back grows, interest compounds on interest. Did you know an interest rate of 7% doubles the debt in just 7 years. Scary.

If this all occurs, Britain could be in a uniquely strong position. The current economic malaise can be thought of as a curreny war where the countries are waiting to see who cracks first. The one that cracks first will suffer most, those that don’t will recover.

The EU is waiting for the USA to crack as the worlds reserve currency. If the dollar declines in value, the euro will gain massively in value thus precipitating a new growth cycle.

The USA is trying to preserve its status as the worlds reserve currency.

Now back to britain. We just have to wait this out. When one collapses you will suddenly have vast amounts of capitol crossing borders into britain, vast new investment. A new asset price buble which will bail out the banks, and allow consumer spending to begin again.

A weak euro will help british clubs immensely. The premier league will have its pick of the worlds best players from the collapsing economies of Italy (Seria A) and Spain (Primera Liga). This wont be good for the English national team. English players will be increasingly sidelined unable to gain playing time.