Alex McCarthy's Blog, page 4

Tom Cleverley: A professional enigma

Manchester United’s Tom Cleverley took to the press today to lament what he feels is a media witch-hunt on his performances this season.

The England international was quoted in the Mirror as stating: “”I feel I’ve been made a scapegoat a little bit. A few people in the media certainly seem to have a perception of me not doing much in the team

It’s been a tough time for Basingstoke-born Cleverley indeed. Imperious midfielders that have preceded him such as Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes have set an intimidating bar that given Cleverley’s form this season, appears incredulous that he could ever dare aspire to.

His stats this season, a campaign where he could for the first time effectively be called a ‘starter’, haven’t supported such a prestigious notion. In a season where United have struggled for the first-time in so long and at such great lengths, it’s obvious that a key area like his will come under such scrutiny.

Central-midfielders come in many different permutations. A brief and basic example would be Roy Keane’s primary vocation was to break-up play and protect his back four. He had a wider arsenal than that of course, but that’s how he was essentially employed. On the flip-side, someone like Tom Huddlestone will negate many of his defensive duties, and is utlisied as a deep-lying playmaker who can start his team going forward and dictate the tempo of a game. Both however, roamed in similar areas of the pitch.

 That’s is Huddlestone’s style, owing to the attributes he is equipped with. Great teams will invariably have influences of all types in their midfield two or three such as Barcelona, who have a wonderful playmaker in Xavi, but they also have Sergio Busquets who adds the mettle and provides the balance.

Where does Tom Cleverley fit in? What does he do? What’s his best role? I think those are difficult questions to answer.

Cleverley insisted: “Don’t get me wrong, I know I can do better but people are making a big thing about how I don’t score enough goals when that is not necessarily my first job in the team.
 
"I watch Spanish football a lot, if they pass the ball sideways but keep possession, the fans clap them. Their attitude is that as long as you have got the ball, the other team can’t hurt you.”
 
United’s number 23’s statistics this season leave more questions than answers. In his 18 appearances thus far, he has managed one goal and one assist (coming in the League Cup). He’s created eight chances, has an average pass completion rate of 90% and has won only 52% of his duels either on the floor or in the air (courtesy of squawka.com).
 
His impressive pass completion gives some credence to the Spanish style he claims he attempts to incorporate. With Michael Carrick sitting in front of the back four though, would it really be necessary and prudent to partner him with a midfielder who carried out an extension of his role? To just keep things moving? Granted, that’s David Moyes domain and order, not Cleverley’s. Yet his comments have an air of niggling negligence. If the United machine was still rolling on like it has done years prior, then it could be serendipitous to excuse him. In other words, he could go unnoticed as a youngster finding his way, a bonus in an already successful unit. It appears the moment some responsibility has been attributed to him, his shoulders aren’t broad enough.
 
I don’t personally think Cleverley is a bad player. In essence, he can pick a pass and has a degree of imagination. The problem is he’s been plunged into a team the magnitude of United’s and indeed England, and he isn’t ready. It’s ok not to be Scholes, after all what are the chances the next youth product is going to be a ready-made replica, if ever?

 
Cleverley has had three loan spells away from the Red Devils, including one particularly fruitful spell at Watford in the Championship back in 09/10. Taking advantage of being allowed to roam behind the strikers, the then 20-year-old bagged 11 goals that term earning their player of the season award in the process. Although the next season with Wigan proved more difficult in a struggling, relegation-threatened team, he still contributed two assists and four goals, one of which was the winner against Wolves that lifted them out of the relegation zone. The difference between performing at those clubs to Manchester United however, is worlds apart.
 
Time will tell whether the academy graduate can become a cornerstone of the United midfield for years to come. Central to his development though would be managers at Old Trafford and England finding a role that best suits Cleverley’s qualities. They’re yet to be fully detected in his current play that’s for sure. At this juncture, he needs to find himself on the pitch, or a club with less-pressure than that of the historical giants he finds himself at.

Mourinho Master-Class

Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea inflicted a comprehensive defeat on Manchester City at the Etihad last night to end Manuel Pelligrini’s men’s 100% home-record this term breeding a run of 11 straight home wins spawning 42 goals.

The 1-0 reverse ended a run of 61 home league-games where the Citizens had scored, a period which saw an outstanding 168 goals. Considering the rampant form City had been exhibiting to all-comers at home this season, it was hard to foresee a result that featured a clean sheet for Chelsea.

Sections of the media predicted that Mourinho would roll into Manchester and set-up shop, park the proverbial bus. The decorated Portuguese did a lot of talking in the run up to this match, and even declared following the FA Cup fourth-round draw which paired the two-European heavyweights together again, that City were ‘no problem’.

Mourinho’s side did all the talking on the pitch last night. Conversely, Arsene Wenger is a great manager and widely acknowledged as one of the world’s best coaches, yet he doesn’t apply the durability Mourinho showed last night, and that’s the primary reason Arsenal shipped six goals at the Etihad. Wenger only has a plan A, he believes in his philosophies and principles and won’t compromise the right way to play football.

Admirable, but foolish when competing in the face of such vast resources and sheer power that the likes of Chelsea and Man City boast. Mourinho managed to harness all of his team’s best attributes, whilst incorporating them into a water-tight system to counter City’s intrepid play between the lines. To see Hazard and Willian posing the threat they did going forward and the same if not more ferocious drive to get back and defend is inspiring on the eye. I sincerely doubt Ozil, Yaya Toure or Mata could pull it off going both ways, and it’s the Mourinho effect.

There were some outstanding performances of course. John Terry, who I am desperate to see in Brazil this summer, and Gary Cahill were nothing short of rocks. Nemanja Matic certainly announced his arrival back in the Premier League after his sabbatical in Portugal and I would argue he bossed Yaya Toure, which make no mistake about it is some feat. Willian was irrepressible in his enterprising approach yet diligent defensive attention.

Eden Hazard was the cream of the crop though. 11 successful dribbles from 16 attempts last night means the flying Belguim international executed more successful dribbles than the entire Man City outfit. Hazard is red-hot right now and his performances are indelibly etching his name in Premier League the same way a certain Ballon d’Or winner did several years ago.

He retains that same kind of power in possession underpinned by his sensational acceleration. It’s scary how good he can be, and I agree it may be premature to suggest he can go onto Ronaldo/Messi levels, but having only turned 23-years-old last month, his influence is undeniable. I’d argue, along with Suarez, he’s the most exciting player in the Premier League right now.

City made some mistakes too. Playing a flat two in the middle of the park against a top team against Chelsea is almost criminal. You just can’t get away with a 4-4-2 at the highest level anymore, and Chelsea’s dominance in the middle of the park was overwhelming. Mourinho’s deployed David Luiz alongside Matic in front of the back four to scan and protect, but also nullify Yaya Toure. Installing Martin Demichellis alongside Toure was never going to be enough and Fernandinho’s missing legs were certainly felt. I also feel the loss of Sergio Aguero was critical. Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo are top class strikers, but as a partnership are very much in a similar mould. Aguero is almost impossible to keep quiet for an entire game, and his pace and channel running to stretch and get beyond Chelsea’s defenders would have posed more problems to Terry and Cahill than the subsequent aerial duels and crosses they were faced with.

Mourinho really pitched the perfect game plan and Pelligrini effectively played into his hands. The City boss shouldn’t have been so naive and almost arrogant enough to think his City side would continue to just do as they please. Under Mourinho, Chelsea were never going to go there and get embarrassed.

Roy Hodgson should pay close attention to the tactical nuances on display last night. England have the players to deploy that kind of strategy against perceived stronger teams, it doesn’t necessarily have to be backs against the wall stuff for 90 minutes. Granted, we may not have a Hazard calibre outlet, but perhaps having Rooney lead the line, with Gerrard a deep lying playmaker in conjunction with a partner to combat attacking threats could work. Whether Wilshire or Barkley could do that kind of disciplined display would be down to Hodgson. Chuck the Ox in the middle (not just his display for Arsenal Vs Palace, see Brazil away last year) and you have a terrific balance.

It’s all well and good doing that, but you need quality outlets to facilitate them, not just hard-working ones like Danny Welbeck and James Milner. Adam Johnson and Daniel Sturridge would be great shouts either flank if you could get the drive and determination installed in them. Jose Mourinho would install it - that much you can guarantee.

Post-January transfer window: who’s gunning for glory and who’s heading for the trap door?

Another hectic January transfer window has been and gone, and now the Premier League’s elite has little over three months to turn ambition into reality – attentions turn to the league table.

Title Chase

Ahead of the super opulent battle at the Manchester City stadium tonight (in the sky blue corner, a Shiekh, in the other dark blue corner, an oil tycoon), Surprisingly to most Arsenal sit top of the table two points clear of Manuel Pelligrini’s Manchester City.

Despite the pun in the title, I’m not leaning towards Arsenal in this title race. I’ve been very impressed with their play this year, as I am every year frankly, and a new found resilience to dig out points particularly away from home, has been a most welcome addition to their repertoire (I was so tempted to put ‘to the gunners arsenal’ then. That would have sucked).

Through February Arsene Wenger’s men have Liverpool twice (once in the FA Cup at home, in the league away), Manchester United (h), as well as the little matter of the home leg of their tie with Bayern Munich in the Champions League. They finish up with resurgent Sunderland at home before entering March which starts with Stoke (a) where Chelsea and Manchester United have faltered, stuttering Swansea (h) and then a truly horrible run of four games. Bayern (a), Tottenham (a), Chelsea (a), Manchester City (h)….wow.

If Arsenal took three/four points from those last three league games, considering years gone by, they’d consider that a bonus. Frankly, Arsene Wenger did not do enough (well, anything really) in January to sustain any kind of title push in the business end of the season. An injured Kim Kallstrom on loan wasn’t what the doctor ordered (and the jokes continue), a striker was an absolute must for the north-Londoners; even before Theo Walcott’s season ending injury. If Giroud does get injured, which seems to be the most over-used hypothetical scenario ever to any pundit, then watching Bendtner try and go at it with Vincent Kompany would be borderline amusing.

It’s hard to believe Wenger would be so naive and inept in the market given his well-documented and publicised (mainly by Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis) resources. Whatever the Frenchmen’s reasons, I personally believe he will come to rue them come the end of the season. Arsenal have enormous quality with a fully fit squad, and on any given day they can compete with anyone. Having all those days however in such close proximity, with a strained squad from injuries as it is, doesn’t bode well for them in my opinion. Man City and Chelsea have far superior squads on the whole, and Chelsea in particular have their ace in the hole – Jose Mourinho. That man knows how to win, just check his C.V.

Who will beat the drop?

The bottom-half of the Premier League is tighter than Mike Ashley’s wallet. Only eight points separates positions 20 (Fulham) to 10 (Aston Villa). No one side is cut adrift just yet and every side retains some hope of being a part of the top 20 in the country come August. Following January, some of course have more hope than others.

I’ve been incredibly impressed with Tony Pulis and his Crystal Palace side, and the business he did in January was excellent given their stature and position. The Welshmen is hardly an advocate of total-football and nor would he claim to be. What he does do, is organise teams and equips them with battling and fitness-based qualities. His teams lie down for no-one, and whilst his Stoke outfit weren’t ecstatically pleasing, he avoided the yo-yo effect many promoted teams endure by utilising the squad he had the best way he could, which prominently involved Rory Delap’s gorgeous long-throw.

Palace don’t want or expect miracles at this juncture. They don’t expect to be bopping off Arsenal at the Emirates either. The difference between the Eagles now to Ian Holloway’s albeit brief stint at the beginning of the season is the resolute defence.  They’ve stopped leaking the goals and in the process become adept at scraping 1-0’s. Old school, pre-Wenger Arsenal, if you like.

Factor in the signings of Wayne Hennessy, Tom Ince and Scott Dann I believe Pulis has been very shrewd with his business. Two players with Premier League experience, in addition to the young, exciting Ince, who has proven he has the appetite and ability for goals. Considering many believed Palace were dead and buried after 10 games, I now tip them to beat the drop and continue this building process into next season.

As for the predictions, I don’t see Fulham’s fortunes improving too much. They made some half-decent signings, but pinning your hopes on a goal scorer from the Greek league with no Premier League experience what so ever is a huge, huge gamble. Norwich are a decent outfit, but looking at the bottom half of the table, they just don’t score enough goals. Goals get you points at the end of the day, and I can see them slipping further and further into the mire. West Ham depends on the form of Andy Carroll for me, but what I’ve seen from the Hammers this season without him is nothing short of painful. In truth, anyone of the bottom-half of the table could slip into these positions, and especially 18th, but based on what we’ve been treated to thus far and the January activity, these are my predictions:

Title Race

Man City

Chelsea

Arsenal

Liverpool

Relegation

West Ham

Norwich

Fulham

Premier League statistics: What do they mean?

The FIFA 2014 World Cup is now under five months away (assuming the rate of deaths whilst constructing the stadiums subside), and already the media has started speculating just who will make Roy Hodgson’s 23-man party.

What do you have to do to make the plane? There’s not a definite criteria, Hodgson is free to do as he pleases when he comes to deciding who makes ‘the plane’. Yet, common themes occur in every squad whether it be the form guide, reputation, experience or even players who can readily adopt the managers philosophies (I’m looking at you here James Milner, you work-horse).

It could be argued that some players international careers are accelerated by the club they play for? The argument works both ways on this one. Sometimes they truly aren’t ready (Tom Cleverly is a fine example here), but on the flip side you could debate playing under big club scrutiny which considers greater expectations, pressure, exposure to European football etc. that they are more adept to performing in the international arena quicker.

Then you have the tried and trusted. The band of footballers who have been there and done it. Another fine line must be drawn with these kind of pros. They’re invaluable to a squad, especially away in a tournament environment. Getting the perfect blend of youth and experience can really work as a drive for both the new blood and the veterans. It generates new determination, new motivation - it’s fresh.

For example, Steven Gerrard is a world-class centre midfielder, still to this day (I don’t care what Sir Alex says). For people like Ross Barkley and Jack Wilshire, spending time with a pro like him day-to-day, on and off the pitch, is invaluable.

How many old legs can you take is a fair question? Too many dilutes the group, and can sometimes subtract from the quality. I think it would be universally agreed that Rio Ferdinand has had an exceptional career and in his prime was one of the world’s best centre-backs. He could in theory have the same aforementioned effect on the young defenders in the Three Lions set-up that I explained Gerrard could. The difference is, Gerrard is still very, very useful on the pitch and warrants a place in the squad on ability alone. Ferdinand though, has noticeably declined over the last 18 months. I know Rio has retired from International football now (that wasn’t to do with age though), but it’s an example.

So, I got to thinking. I wonder if a squad could be picked based on their statistics in the Premier League? Surely that is a true reflection of who is playing best in the country? Below is the best English players to feature on the FTBpro index list.

These stats are accurate as of New Year’s Day, except for goals and assists which are current.

Goalkeepers

John Ruddy - 6 clean sheets, 68% save-rate, 69 saves, 18 app

David Stockdale – 1 clean sheet, 69% save-rate, 36 saves, 9 app

Joe Hart – 4 clean sheets, 68% save-rate, 30 saves, 12 app

The goalkeepers is a strange one, because only eight keepers have made a single appearance or more in the Premier League this season. Apart from our top three here, the other five have a measly combined 11 appearances. So you could argue these three win by default. Five of the 11 combined appearances from our other keepers came from West Brom’s Ben Foster, whose season stuttered due to a freak foot injury. He’s now back in action, and has a superior save-rate than all three of the keepers I’ve currently picked. Assuming he plays the remainder of the season I’d expect him to dislodge Stockdale. So, a pretty familiar look so far.

Defenders

Phil Jagielka – 7th in clearances per game and top of the list for long-range passing.

James Tompkins – Makes the top 10 on aerial duels and clearances.

Michael Dawson – Has overseen nine clean sheets in the Spurs defence, highest of any Englishmen. Also, 5th on accurate long balls.

Joel Ward – Makes the 5th most tackles in the Premier League and covers the 7th most amount of ground.

Leighton Baines – 7 clean sheets, as well as in the top five for chances created, ground covered and key passes.

Steven Caulker – In the top 10 for tackles made this season.

Matt Lowton – In the top 10 for tackles made, and just outside the top 10 for chances created.

Kyle Walker – Has played his part in 7 clean sheets, but sneaks in the top 10 for chances created and distance covered.

With the exceptions of Baines, Walker & Jagielka, this isn’t very familiar, or welcome look I’m sure, to most England fans. When taking defensive statistics into account, you have to also consider that perceived ‘weaker teams’ will invariably have more opportunities to defend, thus their stats are heightened. However, top of the tackles per game category is Lucas Leiva, closely followed by Aaron Ramsey. Nemanja Vidic heads the clearances category and the highest defender in the interceptions list is Laurent Koscielny. So it shows the top stars will show there worth in these stats, which makes it even more alarming that the supposed established Englishmen trail so far behind.

 

Midfielders

Michael Carrick – Popping up in all kinds of lists. Top of the interceptions, top of the average passes per game, in the top 10 for accurate long balls and pass accuracy, the list goes on.

Steven Gerrard – Another veteran in several lists. 3rd on the assist list, 4th on accurate long balls, 6th on average passes per game.

Jonjo Shelvey – Ahead of Gerrard on accurate long balls believe it or not. Also puts his foot in being 10th on tackles per game.

Jordan Henderson – Like Gerrard, has 6 assists to his name and is joint-third on that list. Also in the top 10 for distance covered.

Andros Townsend – At the very top, ahead of Luis Suarez and Eden Hazard for successful dribbles per game in the Premier League.

Ross Barkley – 4th in the successful dribbles list, has 3 goals and is the 3rd highest Englishmen in covering ground in the midfield.

Fabian Delph – 8th in the successful dribbles list, his pass success rate and chances created are just outside the top 10.

For the most part, this midfield is pretty realistic. Only Delph hasn’t been capped before. However, there are glaring big name omissions in Jack Wilshire and Frank Lampard. Alex Oxlade-Chamblerain has been out all season with a knee injury which he has just returned from, and James Milner has been on the fringes at the Etihad – I would expect both to make Hodgson’s final squad. Gerrard’s presence in all the major stats just goes to show how god the veteran Anfield skipper really is, and all signs point to him leading the Three Lions in Brazil. I’ve been prone to moaning about Carrick in the past in an England shirt. His sideways passing and nondescript defensive displays have left me wondering what he’s actually doing sometimes. But, the stats here indicate he is probably Manchester United’s most penetrative force this season and has become more progressive in his play. Whether that’s a direct reflection of how United are performing, you decide.

 

Strikers

Wayne Rooney – No surprise. Nine league goals, nine assists, a chart which he tops, and he features in the ground covered and pass accuracy stakes.

Daniel Sturridge – Top English goal scorer in the league with 11, also has the 6th most shots per game in the league.

Rickie Lambert – 12th for aerial duels, has five assists and six goals to his credit too.

Jay Rodriguez – Joint-second highest English goal scorer in the league tied with Rooney on nine.

Interestingly enough with the forwards, Peter Crouch has 4 assists as well as 6 goals to his name and is the number one player in the aerial duels list (none too surprisingly). Technically, category-wise, Crouch should make it. But, on the premise strikers are judged by their goals, Jay Rodriguez makes the cut. Gabriel Agbonlahor is also up there with 5 assists and in the top 20 of the distance covered list. Somehow I don’t think many fans will be pining for Agbonlahor or Crouch though, or demanding a recount.

 

The point here is, stats aren’t everything. Some people live and breathe by them, but they aren’t the be all and end all. They give us a keen insight into the game, yes. For instance, Adam Lallana is having a terrific season, and while he shows up on the goals and assists lists, he’s no where to be found on the distance covered, the dribbling or even the pass success rate. Whether he tries killer balls often which increases the chance they won’t come off, things like that, is open for debate. But he is someone who couldn’t make the lists who I would definitely want at this point and time to make the plane. Ashley Cole hasn’t played a lot either, but I’d sure like to see him go too.

So, if the England team was picked purely on form, that’s what it would look like. But rest assured, come May – it won’t.

Just how important was last summer for Moyes & United?

As the January transfer window enters its final third of activity and the assortment of expected rumours either come to fruition or more realistically, turn out to be complete rubbish like AVB’s English CV, the picture in the Premier League from top to bottom would suggest several teams are in need of a bit of inspired transfer business. Where oh where is Harry Redknapp when you need him aye? (Oh yeah, QPR).

Manchester United’s decline from champions to perennial mid-tablers has been nothing short of humbling for such a storied club. The majority of the football world understood the transition from such a glorious regime as that of Sir Alex Ferguson’s to whomever took the post next was always going to be difficult, but David Moyes is certainly pushing that notion as far as it can go.

Yesterday’s loss to Chelsea was United’s seventh of the season, which is as many as David Moyes suffered as Everton boss, during the entire 2012/2013 season. The Red Devils have never been outside the top three by January 19th in the Premier League era. They are currently seventh, with their lowest points total by this date ever, 37. Conversely, and in slightly more optimistic news, their previous lowest was 41 points in 1999, when they eventually won the treble. United fans. I wouldn’t hold your breath though.

Moyes inherited a squad that over the course of 38 games, reigned supreme in arguably the toughest league on the planet. No players who picked up a winners medal have been moved on, so why have they deteriorated so quickly? Pundits and fans alike are quick to point out that many of their rivals slipped up continuously allowing the Old Trafford outfit to win the league – rubbish. You’ve still got to win the games, and whoever accumulates the most points over those 38 games will be crowned champions. You are therefore the best side and despite debateable calls that far better United sides have won the league in years gone by, it doesn’t matter. They were the best team in the Premier League in 2012/2013.

Injuries to Robin Van Perise and Wayne Rooney have also been described as major factors. I’m willing to be more understanding and sympathetic to these claims, any club who loses two players of their magnitude and calibre would struggle to compete in the same fashion.  Take Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud out of Arsenal who have featured in virtually every game this season and I’m almost certain they wouldn’t be top. Man City in years gone by, last year particularly, look a far more vulnerable outfit without Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure in their ranks, and they have some of the biggest resources in the world to cope with unavailability.

A major criticism and prominent factor to the red half of Manchester’s problems have been attributed to their summer activity, or lack there of.

Its obvious Marouane Fellaini was a panic buy. He was very publicly available for several million pounds less earlier in the summer yet, Moyes waited until deadline day to make a move, after an even more public pursuit of Cesc Fabregas which never at any point looked like it was going to happen. It’s been reported in several news outlets that Moyes has close to £150m at his disposal to strengthen his squad. Spending some of that budget by the close of play come January 31st is highly advisable.

Below, I’ve taken a look at three major signings other Premier League sides have made this summer that have proved to be the best bit of business since since Arsenal nabbed Francis Jeffers for £9m…. don’t knock him, one cap one goal for the three lions! Anyway, these are my three best signings of the 2013/2014 window based on their seasons thus far in no particular order:

1)      Loic Remy - QPR – Newcastle (loan)

I’ll get this one out of the way. I’m openly an avid Newcastle United fan and subject to bias, however I have good reason to suggest the French international for one of these three spots which I shall detail. First off, he’s joint-third in the top goal scorers list in the Premier League alongside Yaya Toure and Daniel Sturridge with 11 goals. Team mates of the aforementioned two make up the top two spots, Sergio Aguero of Man City has 14 goals from 16 appearances, while the magical Luis Suarez has 22 from 17 games. Remy was the sole recruit Newcastle Director of Football Joke Kinnear (I mean Joe, apologies) managed after yet another near scrape with relegation, and on loan for a pricey £2m at that. At a glance, another year flirting with the lower half of the table seemed to be set in stone. However, Remy’s goals have revitalised the Magpies who have struggled to be anything of an attacking force since Demba Ba’s departure to Chelsea in January 2013. The Toon were 16th with 28 goals from 23 games at this stage last season. As it stands, they have scored four more goals from a game less. Remy’s pace outlet has given Newcastle a fresh dimension they didn’t have before, and in turn has allowed others more expression in their play, notably, Yohan Cabaye.

2)      Alvaro Negredo – Sevilla – Man City (£16m)

21 goals and 6 assists in all competitions for a striker who isn’t totally guaranteed minutes with the likes of Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero knocking about, by January, is pretty outstanding. To appreciate this ratio of goals, he’s done it in 26 games too. It’s fair to judge Aguero as the main man at City, after all he’s easily one of the best strikers in the league, Europe and arguably the World. However, when he got injured and took over a month on the side-lines City had two other strikers in Negredo and Dzeko who were ready and willing to be the direct benefactors of the countless chances the seemingly irrepressible City squad creates. City have reached 103 goals already this season with 63 of them coming in the premiership. Augero 14, Toure 11, Negredo 9 and Dzeko 6 makes up 40 of those efforts. It’s arguable that this City team may have been able to cope without Aguero regardless of their summer Spanish acquisition, but credit must go to Negredo for settling into his surroundings so quickly where other foreign imports have floundered. He’s given City another reliable source of goals this season and is a predator in every sense of the word. City have actually conceded 6 more goals then they had at this stage last season, but what does that matter when you’re up to your eyes in goals!?

3)      Dejan Lovren – Lyon – Southampton (£8.5m)

This might be a weird one to some of you, but hear me out. The 23 year-old Croatian was snapped up last June and has gone on to be a primary reason the Saints occupy 9th in the Premier League, seven points ahead of 10th placed Villa, and six points off 7th placed Manchester United. At this stage last year, Southampton had shipped 40 goals and were only 3 points above the relegation places. Fast-forward to today, and Southampton have conceded 15 goals less and are within reach of a Europa League spot heading into the second half of the season. Lovren obviously has his best years ahead of him too, and a big move for decent money wouldn’t surprise me down the line at all. Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert have stolen most of the headlines this season, and they are indeed playing very well. However, Lovren has provided the kind of stability that has allowed Southampton to grind out results and bag the points that their good play didn’t collect last season. The tall centre-half has also made 156 clearances so far this campaign, putting him in the top five defenders in the league for that stat alone.

Honourable mentions:

Gareth Barry – Man City – Everton (loan) … You have no idea how much it pains me to include him.

Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea – Everton (loan) … Great season so far, and continues to show all the signs of a world-class striker down the line, I just felt Negredo has done more for City.

Mesut Ozil – Real Madrid – Arsenal (£42m) … Massive impact early doors, creating and even scoring some first-rate goals, but has been inconsistent at times.

Tom Huddlestone – Tottenham – Hull (£5m) … A major contributor to Hull’s 11th slot. Back in England reckoning, his technique and passing range could be very useful in Brazil.

Simon Mignolet – Sunderland – Liverpool (£9m) …68 saves, 6 clean sheets and a fantastic penalty save late on Vs Stoke have directly gained Liverpool points.

 

So, where do Manchester United go from here? It’s been said (mainly be Arsene Wenger at every opportunity) that January is a very difficult transfer window for those in pursuit of talent. Both Coutinho and Sturridge made switches to Anfield in the winter shop, and both of them have firmly established themselves as top-end Premier League quality. It can be done, but will Moyes make the move? And if he doesn’t, where does that leave United come May?

Greg Dykes FA Comission, Substance or Brovado?

A new commission headed by FA Chairman Greg Dyke has made several headlines lately as it intends to improve the fortunes of the English national team.

Complaints about the lack of diversity within the panel surfaced last week as it appeared the commission was all-white and male only. The addition of Rio Ferdinand has been greeted as a measure to cull the increasing criticism of a new-born initiative, one that needs to be protected in its infancy. Whilst the timing of Ferdinand’s addition could support such a theory, it can’t be denied that a vastly experienced and decorated professional of his magnitude wouldn’t warrant a place on his own merits.

The doubts haven’t stopped there. The age of the commission, motives and personnel have all come into question since its recent inception. England’s continued ‘failings’ in major competitions since the sole glory of 1966 are well documented upon the approach of a major finals. It mainly serves to spawn the pessimism that we as a nation have become so accustom to in order to avoid the inevitable heartache. After managing two semi-finals in the 90’s (WC 90’, Euro 96’), the last 25 years have also contained two tournaments we failed to qualify for (WC 94’, Euro 08’) as well as a sea of quarter finals and failed penalty shoot-outs.

The idea in principle is to get a varied group of individuals within English football together to create and then implement a strategy to ensure the future success of England on the international stage. It’s a nice notion, sure. It certainly appears more convoluted than the likes of the FA chairman really comprehend. I suppose if it was that easy every nation would do it right? The premise supersedes many just like it with our grass-root campaigns, domestic squad requirements (home-grown rule, 8 of the 25 squad members had to be English) and so on.

So, what can this commission do to help further the English game?

Only 34.1% of the English Premier Division’s players on the opening day of this season were actually English. That is the lowest percentage since the League’s first game back in 1992. At a glance it would appear that would be a fundamental flaw which should be addressed immediately.

Furthermore, just 7.8% of players fielded in Serie A last year were classed as “club-trained” by a study (CIES Football Observatory), which is released biannually and collates a wealth of data across Europe’s top 31 UEFA member divisions. By comparison, the ever golden Spain’s La Liga leaned on 25.6% home-grown players—obviously best represented by Barcelona, who fielded an entire XI of players raised through their La Masia academy during a match in November 2012. French Ligue 1 was not far behind in 2012, with 21.1% of players the product of their clubs’ youth systems. Surprisingly, the Premier League in England weighed in at 17.5%, while just 14.7% of players in Germany’s Bundesliga were classed as home-grown.

Goalkeepers are most likely to be home-grown, with 25.9% of all keepers across Europe are developed in-house. Fullbacks (22.5% home-grown) are next, followed by attacking midfielders (22.2%) and defensive midfielders (21.6%). It’s in central defence (18.8%) and attack (17.4%) that clubs are most likely to look outside their own sphere for talent.

Generally speaking, the lower the standard of football, the higher the percentage of club-trained players. Clubs classed as “Tier 1” in the study (Champions League clubs) average 17.2% of home-grown players, while that number for those ranked “Tier 5” rises to 30.3%. That might seem like common sense for the most part given the opportunities available, but given England is firmly a ‘Tier 1’ division with the most lucrative broadcasting rights in the world, it’s no surprise that where ever the best may rise from in the continent and beyond, they will gravitate to the English Premier League.

So, Italy have the very lowest home-grown player production in Europe, and Germany have a lower production rate than the Premier League too, yet in the last decade both have appeared in World Cup finals and one has become world champions.

Bear with me, I have more stats for you. Would it appear then that maybe the lack of English quality throughout Europe is holding us back? Preventing us from having a big pool of players to choose from?

Brazil remains the No1 provider of expatriates within Europe, with 515 Brazilians spread across the 31 divisions, down from 524 a year ago. France (269 players in the 30 nations outside France), Serbia (205 outside Serbia), Argentina (188) and Portugal (171) remain in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th places. Spain has risen to sixth place, with 148 Spaniards playing outside Spain, with Germany seventh highest exporter and Nigeria eighth.

Interestingly whilst England are nowhere to be seen on the exporter list, they top the arrivals chart for full internationals. England’s Premier League has the highest percentage of capped players (42.5%) followed by the Bundlesliga (35.6%), oil-rich Russia (30.1%), corrupt Italy (24.5%), France (22.3%) and footballer extraordinaires Spain (20.7%). Despite having more than 20% less internationals in La Liga, many would argue that is the most exciting league in the world, and would readily accept it has the two best players in the world, each of whom, are not Spanish.

According to Nick Harris’ Sports Intelligence report, the most common nationality of import to the EPL is French (39 players) then Spanish (26). Is the English Premier League supporting its rivals?

The last international break saw Europe’s elite meet up for their final round of group games as they sought qualification of Brazil 14’. All of England’s squad bar Fraser Forster, who plays in Scotland for Celtic, were from the Premier League. Italy only had five players from outside their home top division, Spain featured seven, Germany allotted three spaces and France boasted the most with 15. Are there any parallels to be drawn between England’s lack of presence throughout Europe? Many would argue that if the players were good enough, they would be given the opportunity.

Does this mean that it’s all about the breeding grounds of players throughout our country? Partly I would say. Much has been made up of Barcelona’s exceptional academy that created the best team of its generation and not to be forgotten, 7 of the 11 starting players from Spain’s 2010 World Cup winning final line-up. If that’s not justification I don’t know what is. It’s still fondly remembered that the 1966 World Cup triumph was richly thanks to West Ham’s input, with Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst raking in the goals, and Bobby Moore captaining the side. In that squad, they were in fact the only three Hammers selected, and there was just as many Manchester United players (Bobby Chalton & Nobby Stiles, who might argue they played a part) and three Liverpool players too. Of course back then, players generally played for where they came from. So do we have any hot beds in England of talent?

I took a look at the current crop of England stars from the last squad and looked to see if there was any trends:

Joe Hart - Shrewsbury, Shropshire

John Ruddy - St. Ives, Cambridgeshire

Fraser Forster - Hexham, Northumberland

Chris Smalling - Greenwich, London

Leighton Baines - Kirkby, Merseyside

Gary Cahill - Dronfield, Derbyshire

Phil Jagielka - Manchester, Greater Manchester

Phil Jones - Preston, Lancashire

Kieran Gibbs - Lambeth, London

Steven Gerrard (captain) - Whiston, Merseyside

Andros Townsend - Leytonstone, London

Michael Carrick - Wallsend, Tyne and Wear

Jack Wilshere -Stevenage, Hertfordshire

Frank Lampard- Romford, London

James Milner- Wortley, Leeds

Ross Barkley - Wavertree, Merseyside

Raheem Sterling - Kingston, Jamaica

Daniel Sturridge - Birmingham, West Midlands

Wayne Rooney- Croxteth, Merseyside

Danny Welbeck - Longsight, Manchester

Rickie Lambert - Kirkby, Merseyside

Jermain Defoe - Beckton, London

By my calculations, that’s five from London, five from Merseyside with a blend of the nation making up the rest. You could also argue Jack Wilshire being from Hertfordshire makes him a close affiliate of London. I also took the liberty of looking at players who would normally be in the squad if it weren’t for injuries or suspensions.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Portsmouth, Hampshire

Tom Cleverly - Basingstoke, Hampshire (relocated to Bradford, Yorkshire at an early age)

Glen Johnson - Greenwich, London

Ashley Cole -Stepney, London

Kyle Walker – Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Andy Carroll – Gateshead, Tyne & Wear

Theo Walcott - Stanmore, London

This further supports London influence on the squad. With the addition of Carroll, it brings the Newcastle influence to three alongside Forster and Carrick. I was surprised to learn there was only two Manchester natives in Welbeck and Jagielka, with the rest of the pool being made up for the majority of middle England.

Should the FA consider these areas as places to heavily invest and support? Given there track record of influence on the national team, it would make sense. The FA did for 15 years operate its center of excellence out of Lilleshall, and only Joe Hart (a good find by all means) in the above squad hails from Shropshire, Lilleshall’s home county. It would make more sense to make use of the obvious pedigree that is regularly produced from these towns, and not just rely on the nearby clubs picking them up, in my opinion. Conversely, an argument could be made to invest further in rural England and around the midlands. Birmingham is the second most populated city in England after London, shouldn’t that part of the country have contributed more players?

It’s reported that the FA plans to invest £102 million in grass-roots football over the next three-years, whatever its interpretation of grass roots is. Much like America took care to produce better athletes and Germany did to produce better players (as well as pinching anything good from Poland or Turkey), England must do more at home. Better facilities, coaching and opportunities will allow us to develop beyond our current climate.

There is a reason there are Spanish and Brazilian players scattered all over the world – because they are the best. I love to see traditional English heart and grit as much as the next guy, but the philosophy of coaching and the general footballing mind-set will have to change if you want to get close to the technical levels those aforementioned countries are at. It’s crazy in a way an uncapped Spaniard like Mikel Arteta can play for a top four club in England. Brazil don’t even have the same opportunities as us facilities wise, but all their talented kids do have the chance to play for their local teams because of the lack of foreign intervention on their leagues.

Whatever the commission decides or concludes, it’s easy to blame the Premier League and its top sides. The production of players in England starts even before the academy’s, there’s youth football, school football and simply areas for kids to play which offer an alternative to sitting in and playing games. If my article has shown anything, it’s that the way our kids are taught the game is central to any possibilities moving forward. Spain have nearly 10 million less people in its population, so how is it they can have so many players scattered about the world and retain a strong contingent in their own league?

If we coach our future generations the right way, we can to have a mass appeal across Europe, and not just the rare exceptional individuals we produce and cherish. Which in part, goes some way to explaining why English players cost so much more than other countries. There’s other factors to that, but we’ll save that for another day.

Manager Merry-Go-Round

Following Everton’s 3-2 home victory over Newcastle, the sixth round of fixtures in the Premier League are complete. Already in the early stages of a long campaign, managers are being judged for their performances and apparent directions that they’re steering their clubs. This happens on a game by game basis given the game’s scrutiny and shouldn’t come as a surprise, but talk of sackings and replacements at this juncture are as hollow as they are premature.

England’s top flight has seen some major changes to its scenery with Sir Alex Ferguson finally retiring (queue every club but United rejoicing) after 26 glorious, trophy laden (38 to be precise) years at the helm of Old Trafford. His successor David Moyes ended a comparatively dry 11 year-tenure at Everton in terms of silverware, however the stability and progression in stature the blue half of Merseyside enjoyed under his stewardship has its own merits. The champions currently occupy 12th place with 7 points from 6 games.

Jose Mourinho also made his emphatic and somewhat inevitable return to Chelsea this summer. The five years ‘The Special One’ spent away from the club were possibly even more successful than the richly prosperous three-and-a-half year stint he enjoyed at Stamford Bridge originally. At 50 years-old, like Moyes, he’ll be hoping to spearhead a new period of glory. Chelsea are currently four points off the summit in 5th.

On the flipside, now the longest serving manager in the entire English game despite immense pressure at the back end of last season, is Arsene Wenger of Arsenal. Weighing in with 17 years to the day (wow), the Frenchmen’s tenure is over double his nearest contender Paul Tisdale of Exeter, who has racked up 7 years and 97 days as of October 1st. Wenger has notched up a respectable 11 trophies during his time of power (which came in his first 9 years), as well as Uefa Cup and Champions League final appearances. His influence on Arsenal as a club culturally and structurally cannot be underestimated. The Gunners currently find themselves top of the pile two points clear of Brendan Rodgers ever-improving Liverpool.

Paolo Di Canio was sacked on the 22nd of September by Sunderland, who currently prop up the Premier League from the foot of the table. His appointment lasted 175 days, 13 games and 14 new signings worth close to £30m. It appears the revolution he demanded spawned revolt, and after weeks of harsh tirades on their performances his new ensemble turned on him. Probably not the best way to bed in a new squad with little to no Premier League experience between them. How ironic that one of the Mackem’s best performers last term Stephane Sessengon, who was ousted under the eccentric Italian’s new regime, helped put the final nail in his coffin by scoring against him for his new club, West Brom, in a 3-0 win.

Although Roberto Martinez did win the F.A Cup last season, Wigan were also finally relegated from England’s top tier after what seemed like an eternity of great escapes. The Spaniard developed a reputation as a manager who can deliver at the business end of the season (he wouldn’t have too if they didn’t get themselves in that mess I think) and refused to concede his philosophy and beliefs of playing football the right way, despite some players in his squad perhaps lacking the real ability to accommodate his ideas. Nevertheless, Martinez has carved himself an image in football as a man who wants to play the game progressively and can bring the best out of talented players (McCarthy, Maloney, Moses, Kone etc). Feeling the ripple effect of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Everton replaced Moyes with Martinez and are currently the only unbeaten outfit in the top flight.

That’s under a quarter of the Premier League’s manager I’ve given the briefest look to. That’s two new heads to the throne filling big shoes (Sir Alex’s shoes are slightly more gigantic), one manager on his way to two decades, and an Italian collecting his P45. Do you know who the second longest reining Premier League manager is? He’s also 9th overall in England as a whole? I’ll save that surprise for the end.

The way managers are judged is pretty difficult to ascertain. First off, it’s the club he’s managing. The expectations for Manchester City because of the money attached to the project are obviously far greater and trophy orientated than that of newly-promoted Hull City. In my opinion, Di Canio wasn’t afforded more time on Wearside because of the money he spent. As a manager, you can’t be given much more backing than that given that Sunderland are hardly big spenders. Granted, five games in to a new season is not nearly enough time for a team to truly gel and show Di Canio’s vision.

Di Canio’s demeanour in itself went some way to sealing his fate sooner rather than later. The players didn’t want to play for him, he was projecting a bad image for the club and the bottom line was, he wasn’t getting the results. Fans, the hierarchy - whoever – will tolerate a lot if you’re getting the job done. You see strikers get away with it every so often (Van Hooijdonk, Stan Collymore, Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic) who are to varying degrees bad eggs, but score goals. If you don’t score goals, well, you’re Nile Ranger. The chairman must have thought ‘I’ve seen enough of this experiment’ and acted early enough to do something about it.

Personality can be very important. Look at Mourinho, he deflects a lot of the attention and thus pressure from his players because he is so polarising and interesting. Many see him as arrogant, but given his track record and passion over the years it has only served to endear him to the nation. Although he’s hardly gregarious, he is a very visible and tangible leader which is something that gives his presence distinction and a kind of benevolence to his team. He will stand up and be counted for them, something Di Canio went completely west with.

Another important aspect is signings. In today’s game, it can be distorted exactly who is in control of them when you’ve got directors of football involved, or Roman Ambramovitch wanting to sign Fernando Torres, or even in Spain, clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid have elections for their presidency where the runners will make claims of players they plan to buy, totally bypassing anything the manager might think. At Newcastle, no transfer is sanctioned without chief scout Graham Carr’s approval. Alan Pardew might think he’s the next Messi, but it doesn’t matter if Carr doesn’t. Throw Joe Kinnear into the mix and who knows what’s going on!

Brenden Rodgers is an excellent example. He refused a director of football upon his arrival at Liverpool, something the Anfield bosses really should have learned from after entrusting Damien Comolli under (or over) Kenny Dalglish. Rodgers have signed all of his own players and moulded a team that play attractive, attacking football, the type of football he was famed for at Swansea City. Daniel Sturridge has been a well and truly inspired signing, at a time where Chelsea appeared to lose faith with him. Victor Moses on loan, again from Chelsea, Coutinho, Mamadou Sahko, Simon Mingolet, Kolo Toure and Joe Allen have all impressed, with others like Iago Aspas and Fabio Borini are still adapting and have to prove their worth.

In contrast, Manchester United and Moyes had a noticeably poor summer. I say noticeably, mainly because they made sure everyone noticed by talking about every target they wanted, and subsequently didn’t get. First off, for a club of Manchester United’s stature, they don’t have to declare anything publicly, or appear desperate. Yet, despite Barcelona rejecting three bids for Fabregas, and the player himself insisting around the time of the second bid he didn’t want to leave the club, Moyes was very vocal about his pursuit of the player. It looks from the outside looking in that he never really knew if Fabregas wanted to come and just hoped.

What they ended up with, was a much more robust and rigid player in Marouane Fellaini, instead of the deft, creative influence they craved since the retirement of Paul Scholes, which Fabregas would have more than fit the bill. Not to mention that they could have had Fellaini some £6m cheaper earlier in the window due to a clause in his contract, but waited till deadline day to make a move. If that doesn’t scream panic I don’t know what does. Fellaini has looked awkward trying to adapt to United’s fluid football and essentially, it’s impossible for him to have the same effect and exert the same influence at Old Trafford as he did at Goodison Park due to the system and supporting cast around him. Man United fans will know the Belguim international is a decent player, but they don’t want to see the centre half’s zinging the ball to Fellaini’s chest or working off his seconds. So he needs time to fit in and adapt.

The Lugubrious atmosphere developing at Old Trafford stems from a rich tapestry of success that has bred an expectant fan base. That’s natural. It’s also impossible for Moyes to be Sir Alex overnight, if ever. He’s inherited a squad that has just won the title with relative ease, so is the difference so simple that it lies squarely within his ability to manage, set-up and motivate a set of players worse than his predecessor? Have the rivals simply got stronger and United have stood still? I can imagine the decision makers at Man U thought about continuity and stability when picking Moyes, but no manager alive will be able to replicate another predecessor’s work. Nowhere. Moyes hasn’t managed a big club before either, the whole dynamic is different in terms of attention, exposure, ambitions, standards etc, he needs to develop himself whilst bringing his own certain stamp on the club. The work ethic and industry he installed at Everton was a hallmark of his teams, even those basic traits would be appreciated at United right now.

The answer isn’t sack Moyes. It’s give him a chance. His transfer dealings were naive, but I sincerely doubt overall that any manager could have walked in and picked up where Fergie left off. You have to invest in the person and their vision of the club. Steve Clarke at West Brom is an example. A traditionally lower-half club with a bit of a yoyo reputation, he made them a top half club for nearly all of last season, and they find themselves 10th so far this term. Brendan Rodgers is transforming Liverpool into a serious top four club once again with exciting players and style. I also think Chris Hughton is doing a fantastic job at Norwich. The essence and heart of the club who performed so well in their Premier League return has not been lost with a flurry of summer signings. The signings have improved the squad immensely and they suddenly appear far stronger. That’s the kind of progression and trust you need to break the cycle of promotion and relegation.

A final word on Arsene Wenger. Them being top now, means pretty much nothing. The only thing it does show is how fickle fans can be. They were begging for him to go last season, I would say probably 75% of Arsenal fans I know were calling for his head. ‘Time for a change’ was a common theme. That intensified further following the opening day defeat at Aston Villa at home, the knives were really out. One German international and five games later Arsenal are top and the fans are praising Wenger’s brilliance once more. From hate figure to profit in a month! That’s some going. I personally don’t think they’ll win the title this season, I fancy Chelsea or Man City and if pushed, I’d probably say Chelsea. With Mourinho at the helm – his impact is that big.

Wenger has overseen an eight-year drought of trophies, but he has stabilised the finances of the club beyond belief and their set-up is one of the best in the world. From the training facilities to their stadium, they are a self-sufficient, top of the line club. They didn’t need a Sheik or an Oil tycoon to sign Ozil, they laid the foundations themselves. That’s not to say they don’t have wealthy owners or investors, but Wenger has probably sacrificed a few years (and sacrifice is a tame word when you consider he qualifies for the Champions League ever year) so Arsenal can prosper for many years going forward.

For the first time in years Arsenal didn’t have to sell any of their big players (you might argue there is only a couple left) and that kind of stability with the addition of a genuine world-class player in Ozil, Arsenal are on the up. Wenger is testament to what can happen if you believe in the ideals the manager promises. Sometimes people forget the brilliant things Wenger has done, like the two doubles, the unbeatables etc and I heard last season ‘He’s losing it’. He’s not losing it, anyone who doesn’t think he is a very shrewd man are very short-sighted.

Oh and by the way, Alan Pardew is the second longest serving Premier League manager now with 2 years and 296 days. Given he’s got another seven years on his contract, it appears he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Three clubs in particular braced for January 2013 Transfer Window

With the January transfer window looming, imaginations once again run wild to the endless possibilities that lend themselves to fans and their respective clubs. All kinds of rationale develop to convince yourself that X player is a plausible buy for X club, but unfortunately history tells us that January is a generally tepid month in the market (give or take an Andy Carroll or Fernando Torres transfer or two).

An estimated £58,300,000 was spent in the 2012 January transfer window (with Manchester City about too, I know) according to accountancy firm Deloitte. This figure was approximately 70 per cent down on the number seen in the previous year’s January 2011 transfer window. A big deal of 2011’s window was Papiss Demba CIsse swapping Germany for Tyneside after joining Newcastle for £10m. That transfer was to serve as support, to continue the momentum the Magpies were riding. Quite the opposite tonic is needed for Newcastle with January on the horizon one-year on.

 

In the Keegan (more so Freddie Shepeard) era, Newcastle was a club associated with money capable of funding big swoops yearly. From the great Alan Shearer to Carl Cort (Ok, I didn’t say they were all smash-hit buys) money was to be spent. With Mike Ashley at the helm, it’s a different time in the North-East, a time I firmly believe Alan Pardew was hired in mind of. His transfer say is borderline non-existent; with head scout Graham Carr (see Tiote, Cabaye and Cisse deals for CV) in charge of what little money the Mags do throw around.

 

The Demba Ba transfer saga appears to be concluding with a move to Stamford Bridge meaning Chelsea will be activating his well-publicised release clause of around £7m. Makes sense, Ba has scored over half of Newcastle’s goals this season thus far which has still seen Pardew’s men only 3 points from relegation, whilst Chelsea who admittedly are 9 points behind leaders Manchester United, do remain in touching distance, and in serious need of firepower to support the apparently renewed Fernando Torres. It’s a logical transfer.

 

Mathieu Debuchy should be coming across the channel to St. James Park to conclude a sage of his own stretching six months for about £5m. Another Frenchmen inbound to the same destination is Loic Remy. The pacey forward has been subject to £10m rumours all-week long and with Ba’s impending departure, I can only think it’s virtually a done deal. Given Newcastle’s inability to finalise deals last-summer however it’s safe to say believe it when you see it.

 

Another club who’s under the scrutiny almost every window now is Arsenal. Any Arsenal fan you speak to will tell you they’ve got money coming out of their ears. Every window though, for every penny Arsenal spend they handsomely recoup too. If I told you I could knock out David Haye every time he offered a fight, but didn’t, would you believe me?

 

Granted, I’m not as half a decorated fighter as Arsene Wenger is a manager, but you catch my drift. The board keep making promises of the funds available and insist it is Wenger himself who is reluctant to spend. After seven going on eight trophy-less seasons, are we really to believe Wenger is that enamoured with his own philosophies that he would neglect basic team needs, principles in fact, that need addressing? I don’t buy that.

 

With Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song Wenger was faced two players who had opportunities to go and play for the arguably (although you’d really struggle to argue it) the best team in the world. That’s a scenario that the Arsenal gaffer can’t really counter, he just has to smile and take the money. However, with Adebayor, Nasri, Clichy and of course RVP, he’s lost players in their prime that he’d spent years moulding as a team. Looking at how those four players have turned out, no one would argue first Wenger’s eye for a player and second the development of said player.

 

For a man of such divine intellect and foresight though (apparently) you would have thought for a plan that requires time like his, he would be very diligent when it comes to contracts, and have contingency plans in place for when the sad scenarios that have laced his reign recently do occur. I can understand to a degree how the board and even Wenger himself will have wanted to solidify Arsenal financially following their stadium move and provide a platform that offers suitable and realistic growth.

 

Such hindrances on transfers though in the face of mass spending in the new oil-rich world of their Premier League rivals is an insurmountable task, no matter how good your theory is. There has to come a time where someone in Arsenal (Wenger himself perhaps) says, we’ve tried it that way, enough is enough. What they spend in January will go a long way to suggesting the clubs immediate direction. At the risk of alienating fans further with their frustrating activity, it might be advisable that Wenger spend. Don’t be surprised though if you get the usual interest in everyone, substance in precious few.

 

Another club who’s transfer policy has been the butt of many jokes in recent memory, is Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers has done a very meticulous job of rebuilding the Anfield clubs style and direction. Allowing Damien Commoli a war-chest wasn’t the most prudent decision owner Tom Werner ever made, Stewart Downing for £16m, Jordan Henderson for £20m and (wait for it) Andy Carroll for £35m showed the kind of expensive taste the Frenchmen sported while acting on behalf of the Liverpool hierarchy. Considering the £71m invested in those three, I don’t know where to start when dissecting the ratios of money to performance. Michu is taking the Premier League by storm following a £2m move from La Liga. Hatem Ben Arfa cost £5m. Mohammed Diame went to West Ham on a free! It only pays testament to the over inflated prices British players suffer.

 

You can’t sign a worldie every time, even Sir Alex will tell you that. To be fair, Commoli did bring in Luis Suarez and Jose Enrique who are important parts of the Liverpool side today.  Manager Rodgers finds himself at an important juncture of his tenure on Merseyside, where for all the nice football he’s trying to bring to the club, he needs to equip himself with the players to facilitate it. Unearthing Raheem Sterling and Suso, two players who have impressed at various times this season (it’s surprising how much of an ever-present Sterling has been) are two early bonuses in what the Northern Irishman must think is a very tangible project.

 

Tom Werner though, must be thinking about the last time he entrusted such cash to an individual. Rodgers may have to suffer where his careless predecessors (Liverpool fan’s don’t scorn me for bad-mouthing King Kenny) rushed their deals and bought a host of players hoping for a team, rather than a system to buy players for. Rodgers has got that system now, and buys like Joe Allen signify the start of that. A couple of buys and Liverpool can really start thinking about being a regular fixture in the top 6 again, at least. I have my doubts about Fabio Borini, but one more striker is needed to give the squad some reliable depth. Daniel Sturridge may be that striker with a reported £12m deal all but done, but he hasn’t showed me much as a striker so far in his career. Whether his farming out to the right-hand side has restricted that, only time will tell. Either way, a man with the ideologies Rodgers has, I’d really like to see him get some success and transform Liverpool, from a football purist point of view. He signalled his intentions when Andy Carroll, a £35m striker (in name only) was allowed to leave on loan. That’s simply not the football Rodgers has an interest in giving to the fans, he’s scrupulous in his endeavours. Much to Sam Alladyce’s staunch disbelief I’m sure.

 

There’s the three clubs I believe will be/need to be most active this January 2013, excusing QPR whose need of new players in painfully obvious. With both Manchester clubs always in the market, Wesley Sneidjer available and Harry Redknapp’s electric car windows bound to take a hammering, the scene is set for an interesting window.

Maybach Music - The next music empire?

Life keeps getting better for Miami’s own Rick Ross. Not only was ‘tha boss’ named hottest MC in the game by MTV in 2011, as well as following that accolade up with a certified gold, number 1 album (God forgives…I Don’t), but the record label he founded in 2009 – Maybach Music – continues to go from strength to strength.

Meek Mill’s first studio album ‘Dreams & Nightmares’ hits the shelves on 30th October and after being previewed by the likes of Jay-Z and Will Smith in New York, it’s got the rap industry buzzing. Appearances from Nas, Rick Ross, John Legend, Trey Songz & Mary J. Blige is no mean feat on your first record, yet the calibre of guest only serves to compliment Mill’s well recognised potential and very current ability.

The guest list doesn’t stop there with an illustrious cast of producers lending a helping hand. Jahill Beats, Boi-1da and the star of ‘God Forgives…I Don’t’ (Justice League would probably argue this) Cardiak all contribute to this debut LP. With the backing of the hottest rapper on the earth right now and with a mix of the industry’s most respected and current artist/producers ‘Dreams & Nightmares’  is destined to make an impression. The stand-out record for me is ‘Maybach Curtains’ with Trey Songz, Wale & Rick Ross himself.

The way Maybach music is shaping up brings back fond memories of how Roc-a-Fella records under Jay-Z’s stewardship was leading rap in the early to mid-2000’s, or even to a lesser extent how 50 Cent tried to get a chokehold on the game with G-Unit records who were swarming the sales back in 2003, but had their peak by 2006 in truth despite still being active today whereas Roc-a-Fella is now defunct.

Maybach Music might have just started with Rick Ross, who back in 2009 was modestly making progress with his first three studio albums, however they have collected quite a powerful ensemble since those unpredictable beginnings. The additions of Wale, Stalley & indeed Meek Mill in 2011 were the catalyst for change for the rap label. A year on, three more additions have been added to this burgeoning empire with former B2K front-man Omarion given a chance to rejuvenate his stagnating career, as well as up and coming rappers French Montana (Morrocan-born if you were wondering) & 21-year old Chicago native Rockie fresh.

Roc-a-Fella used to sport arguably a stronger roster than that of Maybach Music’s. The Diplomats a.k.a  Dipset contained Cam’ron, Juelz Santana & Jim Jones who were just three of 8 members. Freeway, J.Cole, Foxy Brown, Beanie Sigel, Jadakiss, Memphis Bleek, M.O.P and of course, two of the stand out stars to emerge from the ROC, Kanye West & Rihanna A point comes where the stars don’t need the label as much as the label needs them, and that can be said in about 75% of these cases. Of course Jay-Z had close to 10 years to recruit these artist as opposed to Rozay’s three so far.

G-Unit made much poorer judgement calls unfortunately for them. Though to be fair, Lloyd Banks & Mobb Deep had successful albums released under the G-Unit umbrella, for every success there’s a poor investment. Lil Scrappy, despite a very well-produced first album which was relatively well received actually, like many artists, had a dispute with 50 Cent and was promptly dropped. M.O.P actually moved over from Roc-a-Fella and in a four-year period didn’t manage one release (literally robbing a living off 50 Cent). Olivia was meant to be the princess of G-Unit and after appearing on ‘Candy Shop’ amongst others many thought she would be the next to break out from the label. However after several of her singles were poorly received, 50 dropped her in 2007 and shelved her entire album. The two biggest losses without a doubt have to be Game and Young Buck. 50 Cent is a very, very rich man, a millionaire in fact. You could speculate the reason he isn’t a billionaire is because of petty squabbles which have lost him very lucrative artist like the aforementioned pair.

Ross has every right to enjoy life while he’s on top. If the other labels teach you anything, it’s nothing lasts forever. We can just hope he can keep churning out quality albums and artists to boot.

Singles of the Week

 

Bobby V Feat. Future – Tipsey Love

I think about 90% of my entire sex life can be attributed to ‘tipsey love’ as it were. If it weren’t for alcohol the vast majority of the world would have been virgins for a lot longer than they were! Anyway, you get the gist of the song. A smooth, strong beat laced on electronic keys joint from Mr. Valentino’s upcoming album Dusk till Dawn (not a play on the Clooney/Tarantino vampire film in the 90’s, at all). Speaking of labels, Bobby V used to be a part of ATL resident Ludacris’ Disturbing tha Peace records before being panned in 2008 with another high-profile casualty Chingy, despite claiming it was all his own decision. The sales of his self-titled first album and the follow-up ‘Special Occasion’ probably support his theory to be fair.

Kanye West – White Dress

Finally Kanye. This effort really reminds me of the Kanye from around Late Registration/Graduation era when he couldn’t stop striking gold. Is it a sample? Yes. Is Kanye using an Autotune? No. if you’re a real Kanye fan that’s all you need to know! I’m not saying 808’s & Heartbreaks was terrible, but this track has remnants of his more appreciated, finer work. The lyrics and flow are textbook West, and the soulful sample always compliments him so well. I don’t know who to thank for bringing him back to the music he belongs, Jay-Z or Kim Kardashian!  …(probably Jay-Z).

Kendrick Lamar Feat. Drake – Poetic Justice

If you’ve got your ear to the ground in R’n’B and Hip-Hop than I need not introduce you to Kendrick Lamar but I will anyway – this guy’s serious. Born & bred in Compton, California, whilst being on stage with west-coast legends Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre & Game in 2011, they all crowned him ‘The new king of West-Coast Rap’ – some accolade. There’s no secret his first single ‘The Recipe’ put him on the map, being backed by someone of Dr. Dre’s standing (still waiting for Detox by the way pal) and singed to Aftermath will do a lot for your profile straight out the gate, besides a massive beat. This one is far more subtle compared to some of his hard-hitting west-coat beats and features a masterfully chopped and screwed sample courtesy of Scoop Deville from the Janet Jackson classic of the same name. I highly recommend giving the album a chance if you’re not familiar with him; producers like Pharrell, Just Blaze & Tha Bizness guarantee some decent beats.

To finish off this week here’s a couple of other singles to check out. Brandy is trying to reinvent herself with her latest album ‘Two Eleven’ and a few tracks have leaked this week. Now normally, I’d say getting people like Bangladesh, Sean Garrett & Jim Jonsin on the production and writing team is a sure fire success, however judging by ‘What You Need’, which is a Bangladesh beat, I don’t think it really suits her. It’s more of a Chris Brown (who features on the album coincidently) heavy baseline chorus and mildly explicit lyrical content (I’ll say mildly explicit cos’ for Brandy it is a bit). For me though, a lot of the song is a strange arrangement, but I can imagine it will be some people’s cups of tea. Another track to bear in mind is Vivian Green’s ‘X’ featuring Freeway. A safe shout here from Vivian (she’s must about 60, surely no one young has that name?) with a strong beat accompanying a piano, sounds a good recipe for most R’n’B tracks nowadays. Chuck Freeway in at the start and she’s got herself a plausible song. The hook lacks star quality, but still worth a download.

Rick Ross: God Forgives, I Don’t - Review

Wow. I’ve always been a fan of Rozay, but he’s well and truly stepped his game up on this one. From the production, hooks, features down to his unique and individually distinctive flow, the Miami boss has got himself a stone cold hit which currently resides at the top of the North-American charts.

Five-stars from artistdirect, an A- from Entertainment weekly and a superb four-stars from notoriously stingy Hip-Hop scoring Rolling Stone magazine have seen the media laud the rappers fifth studio effort. It’s being touted as the best rap album of 2012 thus far and in Dr. Dre’s words, the best since Drake’s 2011 global smash ‘Thank Me Later’.

Though many would argue Rick Ross is a different brand of rap artist than that of the Canadian, Ross does sport a similar feel on his album that Drake has seemingly reinvigorated the genre with. A laid-back, smoother feel in contrast to his harsher brassy beat focused past (nothing wrong with a banging beat at all mind) the Teflon don has made room for more strings and melody on this effort. Ross has always stood out on sample tracks, particularly those produced by the sample master himself, Kanye West (‘Listen’, ‘Devil in a Dress’) and in line with that tone has made himself more accessible to mainstream audience and in particular, more closely associated with the hybrid hip-hop cross-breed R’nB.

‘Ashamed’ produced by Cool & Dre is very much in the vein of the aforementioned, as is the Cardiak produced ‘Amsterdam’ (surprisingly not totally about weed), both sport an easy tempo and snare that Ross just kills every time. Speaking of Cardiak, when I first heard ‘Diced Pineapples’ I was certain J.U.S.T.I.C.E L.E.A.G.U.E were behind it, however all credit for track of the album has to go too New Jersey native Cardiak. You may recognise his producer trait of a short flat-lining sound at the beginning of tracks that he cuts. Diced Pineapples is a huge track for not only the arrangement, but the hook performed by Drake is absolute gold. Typical in every Drake-esc sense, the hook is in your head from the get go. Wale is another artist I’ve been harping on about for a while now (Best Night Ever, So Fucking Fine) and he comes through with a conversational intro to the track before lacing a tight-knit third verse as you would expect from the albeit relative newcomer.

‘Three Kings’ featuring Dr. Dre and Jay-Z doesn’t even need any elaboration from me, the sight of those names should have you flocking to iTunes in your droves to listen to it. ‘Sixteen’ with Andre 3000 is a jazz influenced track playing off the notion sixteen bars just isn’t enough for a rapper, something which the over 8 minute running time tells you before you even press play. Having said that, Andre delivers a seriously potent verse which is just as intricate as it is long, pay attention ot that one.

‘Maybach Music IV’ featuring Ne-Yo is another cornerstone of the LP appearing to be a popular trend on Rick Ross albums. J.U.S.T.I.C.E L.E.A.G.U.E issues a complex beat which veterans of Ross’ and Ne-Yo’s calibre have no problem navigating, it’s one of those tracks that before you listen you know what to expect and they didn’t disappoint. Finally, The Neptunes produced ‘Presidential’ featuring Elijah Blake is worth singling out for special mention. This reminds me what Pharrell used to be able to create on the regs. Effortless and simple key changes with crazy hooks – Blake kills it.

I could actually give you a run down and praise every track, I haven’t even had time to mention the first single off the album with Usher ‘Touch n’ U’ - that’s the qaulity we’re dealing with here. But those special mentions should be more than enough to get you on the bandwagon. I have lost count the amount of times I’ve just pressed play from track one and let it play through (my commute to work on the trains probably has aided that somewhat but still..) which is the sign of a world-class album. This album is a MUST HAVE – period. You’re not a rap fan without it.