Barcelona Unsettled by Hiddink

The Spanish backlash which greeted Chelsea's Champions League semi-final first leg stalemate at Barcelona, was quite predictable and quite misguided. Different variants of the 'Chelsea's tactics are killing football' theme were banded about; it's fair to say that Catalonia was not overly enamored with the way in which they set about achieving 0-0 parity. 

Brilliant as Guardiola's team are to watch, they have adopted a rather arrogant view that aesthetically pleasing attacking football is more worthy than good quality defensive play. Few would argue that Barca's brand of total football is more easy on the eye, but the points system in football doesn't work like that of an Olympic diving contest. It's all about the result, and Chelsea deserve praise for securing a decent one. Far from do anything wrong, they did a lot right.

Believe it or not, defending is as much an art-form as attacking. John Terry is as impressive an exponent of his role as Thierry Henry is of his. The comments emanating from the Catalan camp seem almost to be accusing Chelsea of some form of cheating. "It's difficult to play against a team which doesn't want to play football," lamented Guardiola after the first leg. No Pep, they just didn't want to play your brand of football.

And what a good decision that turned out to be. Were Chelsea really meant to adopt a high defensive line and cavalier attitude towards protecting Petr Cech's goal, just like Real Madrid did on Saturday? Then they too would have found themselves four goals down by the end of the night. Important as it is to show the locals respect in a foreign country, that would be taking it a couple of notches too far. 

Barca's 6-2 mauling at the Bernabeu further underlined just how good a result 0-0 at the Nou Camp is. It also highlighted a tactical deficiency in the Spanish side's make-up; the lack of a Plan B. Admittedly, Plan A is very effective and has brushed aside all-comers in La Liga this season. However, upon encountering the Chelsea brick wall, Barca's only answer was to try and neatly pass their way through it. Unable to get their own way, they reverted to spoilt child mode and harmless jibes.

If Barcelona only know one way to play, then Chelsea, and in particular Guus Hiddink, know a number more. The plans the Dutchman has masterminded for his different teams over the years extend from Plan A right down the alphabet, and doubtless tonight's game will see Chelsea try something a bit different.  

It's fair to assume Barcelona wont, which should make for a fascinating tie. At this stage in the competition, there is much to be said for having tactical nous on your side.

Moyes Exceeds Expectations

The FA Premier League Manager of the Year award is unlikely to end up on Merseyside this season. If it does, it will be found buried under a myriad of congratulatory letters and a league winners medal on Rafa Benitez's desk, a footnote to the prize most coveted by the red half of Liverpool. 

The award seems to follow the premiership title around gamely. It can usually be found in Manchester, whilst sometimes popping out of the office for a brief spell in London. Only once, when awarded to George Burley in 2001, has it ever been awarded to a manager who has not won the league. But, maybe this year it should end up on Merseyside regardless.

That David Moyes goes into the international break with his team sitting comfortably in 6th position - honing in on those above them and safe from the threat of those below them - represents a superb achievement. Given the obstacles which he and his Everton team have overcome this year, his is the outstanding managerial performance of 2008-09.

Whilst moaning about injuries is to an extent justified, a not inconsiderable part of a manager's job is learning to cope with them. Injuries are a certainty for every manager, each season, and Moyes deserves credit for how he has dealt with more than his fair share.

Yakubu, Everton's main threat, hasn't kicked a ball since November. The same is true of youngster James Vaughan, while Victor Anichebe joined them on the injury list in February and will not return this season. Louis Saha is Louis Saha and consequently Moyes has entered into a number of games without any fit strikers. This is not been evident in their impressively consistent results.

For a start, Moyes has negated the need to score an excess of goals by constructing an organised and efficient defence and midfield platform. His is a first team littered with reliable bargains, players who with the benefit of hindsight we can deduce he paid well under the odds for.

The likes of Lescott, Jagielka, Pienaar, Arteta and Howard were not unknowns before donning the Everton blue, but all have risen to heights higher than fans dared dream and their transfer fees suggested at time of purchase. The ability to acquire players for half their monetary value has enabled Moyes to infuse his squad with quality youngsters, such as Dan Gosling and the particularly outstanding Jack Rodwell, and the odd player of considerable expense, like Marouane Fellaini.

Everton's transfer policy and spirit is best summed up by Tim Cahill. Everton's man for any occasion has proved equally at home ghosting late into danger areas to score crucial goals in big games as he has filling in up front in the absence of strikers. Moyes has hinted he's a player of the season candidate, but in truth his chances probably mirror his manager's.

Understandably, when choosing the award's recipient in the past, the FA have favoured a direct correlation between a manager's achievements and silverware. Therefore, winning the FA cup is likely to be the only factor to give Moyes a realistic chance. But, with the odds against him, he's moulded a team that is very hard to beat, irrespective of goings on at Wembley.

Tellingly, Moyes has twice received the League Managers Association Manager of the Year award, in 2003 and 2005, the year he guided Everton to the fourth Champions League spot, at the expense of Liverpool. Such acclaim is unlikely to be matched by the FA in May, though his case, in a year in which all the big guns have struggled to assert themselves, is strong.

In all probability another Scot, Sir Alex Ferguson will be renewing his award ownership. As thoroughly deserved as it was last year, it is hard to argue that his team have progressed this year. He essentially bought himself a 30 million pound conundrum in Dimitar Berbatov, which he has spent the season trying to solve. This has yet to be done, and in truth, an until-now unpenetrable defence and an impressive increase in percentage of possesion have kept them ahead of a faltering pack. They are likely to taste league success, maybe even European too, but they have failed to convince like last season in the attacking third. 

This probably says more about the Premier League's chasing pack than about United. Rafael Benitez may have enjoyed two weeks which he'll do well to better for the rest of his career, but Liverpool's recent run cannot mask a largely inconsistent and often uninspired campaign, and an unhealthy reliance on two specific players. They too may prove successful in Europe, maybe even domestically, but they have produced considerably more average displays than you would associate with a team in their position.   

Similarly, Aston Villa's recent implosion should not colour an otherwise impressive season. Fans of such clubs strive for improvement, and the Villa Park faithful have certainly been treated to that, to the extent that they've forgotten the pre-Champions League contention days, as the recent booing of Gabriel Agbonlahor suggested. O'Neill deserves praise, but so too does Randy Lerner, who has supplied his manager with generous funds and a free reign to construct his masterplan.

Honourable mentions too have been merited by the managerial displays of Gianfranco Zola and Steve Bruce. Both joined their clubs in unsure times, but have replaced looming question marks of a worrying nature with ones concerning European qualification. 

These are the managers of the season; ones who've exceeded all expectation. And leading that pack is David Moyes.   

Ferguson Should Go With Tevez

The Carling Cup in the bag, a sizeable lead in the premiership, the preferential draw in the FA Cup semi-finals - an unblemished season beckons. However, the largest immediate obstacle to Manchester United's immortality, is a considerable one. 

Ferguson must guide his team past Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan on Wednesday night to keep alive his dream of retaining the Champions League title.

To do this he will have to find a solution to his striker "crisis". Which two of Rooney, Ronaldo, Berbatov and Tevez to pair upfront. If Manchester United did crises, they'd probably be the best crises in the world.

In reality Ronaldo is likely to slot into midfield. And then there were three. Rooney and Tevez in the bullish genius camp, and Berbatov, who represents the sublime or the non-existent, depending on his mood.

Rooney is a likely starter having returned to full fitness and goal-scoring form against Fulham on Saturday. And Tevez should join him.

For a start he too is in goal-scoring form, bagging a brace at the weekend. More significant than that on Saturday were the sparks flying between Rooney and Tevez. Finally Manchester United were able to produce the ruthless demolition they've been searching for all season, and Ferguson must seize the moment and bottle it.

Ironically, Berbatov has proved a more uncomfortable fit at United than Tevez. Seen by many as the final piece in the Old Trafford jigsaw, the unpredictable Bulgarian has complicated Ferguson's front-line options in a way that few predicted, and to the extent that the Scot is still undecided on his first choice pairing. Such problems were predicted upon Tevez's arrival with popular opinion assuming the Argentine dynamo would struggle to link with Rooney due to their almost identical approaches to the art of attacking. 

They are remarkably similar, but this consensus overlooked two key facts; such similarity fails to pose a problem when the forwards in question are complete strikers - muscular, capable in the air, strong on the ground - and when both possess world class ability.

Despite being the better team in the first leg, an inability to score an away goal places United in a precarious position this week. Concede and they must score two. The situation will require defending from the front. Pairing Rooney with Tevez will ensure this. Berbatov is capable of many things on a football pitch, whether or not defending is one of them remains to be seen, he has yet to trouble himself with trying.

Of course Tevez is no less capable of having an ineffectual night than Berbatov, but at least he'll die trying. If Inter's defenders leave the pitch on Wednesday having faced 90 minutes of Rooney and Tevez, they'll know all about it. If in doing so they are victorious they'll fully deserve their Quarter Final berth. After all, one of the few things more terrifying than facing Wayne Rooney, is facing him in tandem with a clone.

The "Lottery" of Penalties

Possibly the biggest mistake Spurs made regarding their narrow defeat in the Carling Cup final on Sunday, occurred in the days and weeks leading up to the final. "We thought there is no point in practising penalties" revealed striker Darren Bent. I wonder if their viewpoint was beginning to change after extra time as the exhausted players linked arms on the halfway line, a grim air of inevitability engulfing the men in white.

Admittedly the finer details of the previous 120 minutes of football merited the vast majority of Redknapp's preparation time, but the fact that his team had stuck to his solid gameplan so admirably, merely makes the assumption that penalties were not worthy of even an afterthought, all the more baffling.

Redknapp's description of penalties being a "lottery" is not entirely accurate. "Lottery" implies luck, that the Spurs players had no control over their own actions around the Wembley penalty spot, that every ounce of Jamie O'Hara's football talent and experience was extracted from his body as he began the fateful walk from the halfway line.

Sure, luck plays a part, but so does skill and mental strength. To claim that a penalty competition will be decided solely by luck is to do a disservice to those whose ability to thrive from the spot affords them 'expert' status. Alan Shearer did not have such an impressive record from the penalty spot because he was a very lucky man, more that he could place a ball and hold his nerve like few others. His unerring penalty accuracy is matched only by his uncanny ability to pick a shirt straight from the Matalan bargain bin for his appearances on the Match of the Day sofa.

Manchester United practised them, Spurs didn't. Of course this is not the reason Spurs failed to retain the trophy for the first time since Nottingham Forrest in 1990, but it has to be considered a factor.

It is impossible to simulate the pressure of a shootout in any training ground situation, but that stage is sufficient for honing the skills of psyching out the 'keeper, choosing a spot and ensuring the ball ends up there. If nothing else, Spurs should have entertained the possibility of a shootout occurring by identifying a number of possible takers; and those takers should have decided where their penalties would go - at least by the night before the match - eradicating any of the doubts that can flood the mind in the tsunami of nerves which plague such situations.

Ben Foster's use of the ipod represents the other end of the preparation spectrum. Verging on the obsessive, this attention to detail will understandably not appeal to all, but at the very least it shows that United had rehearsed for the situation as best they could. Pressure will always allow for lines to be fluffed, but as the dust of fate was sprinkled over proceedings, the Reds' superior planning told.

Torres Changes Headlines, But Little Else

The gist of tomorrows back-page headlines changed in an instant. Well, two instances, two minutes apart, both coertesy of Fernando Torres.

For 88 minutes the headlines were writing themselves. The Only Winners This Weekend: Manchester United. An air of predictability engulfed Anfield.

What wasn't predictable about the first 88 minutes? The lack of goals was. The result was. The fact that the PGA golf over on Sky Sports 3 offered more entertainment was. This fixture had form, and it was predominantly bad.

All of a sudden two late strikes change the complexion of the score and tomorrow's headlines. But what did the goals change about the title-race? What sway, if any, will the result have on the end-of-season destination of the Premiership trophy?

The answer is most likely very little. The result may have prolonged Liverpool's challenge by a couple of weeks, it has probably effectively ended Chelsea's, but ultimately this is looking increasingly like Manchester United's title to lose. 

This match offered the chance to make a statement, as United did in last month's 3-0 defeat of Chelsea, but neither side could manage more than a limp afterthought.

For 88 minutes Sir Alex Ferguson would have been chuckling away to himself had he broken his habit and decided to watch his title rivals in combat. By the final whistle, the chuckle may have ceased, but he'd be forgiven a small smile.

The truth is that for the vast majority of this game, Liverpool and Chelsea contrived to do what they seem to do best in these situations, and that's help United. We're talking about two teams who failed to win a single Premiership match while the champions were off in the far East before Christmas cementing their position as the greatest team on the planet. The initiative was left emphatically un-seized. 

The fact remains that Liverpool, with the most fortuitous of numerical advantages, sneaked a win, nothing more. This was one occasion where they were able to land on the get-out-of-jail card late on. We have seen enough this season to suggest that in too many matches the search for that card will be in vain. 

The late raid on the Chelsea goal will have altered headlines and the thrust of many an article. The media are desperate to manufacture interest at the top of the table, even when it appears to be ebbing away. But, it would be fickle to overlook the first 88 minutes of this game, and indeed their recent displays - 11 points from a possible 21 prior to this game.

No, the interest this season can be located below the top two - in the battle for the fourth Champions League spot and the relegation dogfight. 

As for Lampard's sending off, we cannot know the effect that it had on this particular game, though it will not trouble Chelsea further once it has been recinded. What is for certain, is the absurdity of Mike Riley's decision. No interpretation of the laws of the game can justify this decision. As Lampard  departed, so seemingly did his teams chances - they nearly got away with it today, but instead left that job to Liverpool.

The roar of the Kop as the late drama unfolded suggested they still believe. By all accounts the players do too. But they've yet to back up such genuine belief with genuine title-winning performances. This weekend's big winners? Manchester United.

City Must Hand Hughes Initiative In Transfer Market

So Kaka has seen sense (and a recent copy of the Premier League table) and decided to stay put for the time being. Good news for football, for Milan and for Manchester City.

Whilst it's a given that Kaka would improve any team in the world, he does not represent the best use of Manchester City's mega bucks at this stage of their side's development.

As unlikely to dramatically increase Eastlands season ticket sales that the triple captures of Bridge, Bellamy and DeJong are, they represent sensible business at this stage of a project which can only work if treated as long-term.

From the moment Sheikh Mansour grounded his private jet in Manchester with the intent of ripping up and rewriting football's rich list, the right noises have been made. No fear, we're in it for the long run the new regime were at pains to stress.

All very well but not entirely in keeping with the noises that 100 million pound bids make. Having raised an eyebrow with the Robinho offer, they well and truly raised two with their pursuit of Ricardo Kaka. 

And where does Mark Hughes fit into all this? The superstar Brazilian did not appear on his January wish-list. Being as sensible as his haircut suggests, the Hughes transfer targets list was headed by the likes of Scott Parker and Shay Given.

If the powers that be at Eastlands can avoid the distractions of the glitz and glamour on offer in Milan and other European football hotspots, then they would do well to consult to their manager's masterplan. 

At this stage of the project, City need their Waynes and their Craigs. Achieving moderate success with these players could lead to the attraction of the Ricardos and Thierrys. On the monopoly board of the Premier League stage, players of Kaka's ilk represent the luxury of hotels, but City have yet to purchase an above average street.

The galactico blueprint was set by Real Madrid at the turn of the millenium. Their project was launched on the relatively solid foundations of being the world's biggest club, but even their most staunch supporter would struggle to label it an unqualified success. 

City are not starting their journey from the same (or even vaguely similar) foundations. Hughes, a student of the game, understands the need to fill his squad with players in the league of his trio of new signings. Over a period of time such players should facilitate an accent up the table which in turn may start to interest the superstars of world football.

It appears that Manchester City could complete a deal for Shay Given this week. It wont attract a fifth of the newspaper space that the Kaka saga consumed, but it is exactly the avenue that the club should be exploring at this stage. 

Of all the various decision makers involved in project Manchester City, one party must take the lead on their approach in the transfer market, thus avoiding the current apparent confusion. They must listen to Hughes; the sensible man, the football man. 

The Zola Effect

If nice guys really do finish last then West Ham could be in trouble this season. When the club appointed Gianfranco Zola back in September, the general concensus of the footballing world was that they had aquired a fine man, if an unknown manager.  

Now we are beginning to get a sense of Zola the boss, and the signs are encouraging. Great players rarely make great (even good) managers, but Zola is hoping to buck that trend.

The club welcomed him by packing a seasons worth of headlines into a three month period. The fact that most of these referred to the court room and not the football pitch did not deter the diminutive Italian who has kept his cool admirably amidst the soap opera of Upton Park.

Repeatedly restating Scott Duxbury's assurances that no first team players will be sold in the January transfer window amid a barrage of press scepticism, Zola appears to be having his wish granted.

The sale of Craig Bellamy will be viewed as no disaster given a) the inflated fee involved and b) the team's, and in particular Carlton Cole's, recent performances.

Demanding to leave a club that have stuck by you through one and a half injury ravaged seasons tells you all you need to know about Craig Bellamy.

Whilst Zola has been a revelation in his off-pitch capacity, West Ham fans will be even more encouraged by the promising signs on the pitch.

West Ham have a proud tradition, and as such the fans can seem demanding. In actual fact, this is far from the truth - they are not unreasonably demanding trophies, their cravings are more subtle than that, and relate to style.

Traditionally the trophy cabinet at Upton Park has never needed to be any more than a cupboard, but that is not to say that a visit to the ground on matchday is not worthwhile - far from it. The Upton Park turf has been graced by some of the all-time greats, and the locals have grown accustomed to generations of aesthetically pleasing teams. An achievement they have come to value dearly.

Interestingly, the last time that a West Ham team could truly claim a place within that famous and proud dynasty of exhilerating football, they were also led by a charismatic Italian.

Paulo Di Canio was the sort of footballer the West Ham crowd feed off. The passionate love of the supporters was reciprocated entirely on the part of the man himself, as he forged a talismanic role in Redknapp's side of the late nineties.

That side were able to impress over a prolonged and stable period of time, culminating in 5th place (West Ham's highest Premier League placing) and an Intertoto cup spot in 1999.

 

Of course, West Ham fans are not alone in cherishing such a reputation, but no team could possibly cherish it more than them. For West Ham fans, trophies are intermitant , but their style should not be. They may not always pull, but it's vital that they look good trying.

On paper Alan Curbishley's tenure at Upton Park was a notable success. Avoiding relegation with the pendulum veering dramatically from the realm of improbable to that of impossible and the stability of a second season top-half finish are a credit to him. Replacing notable with remarkable would have required the addition of style to that substance.

Gianfranco Zola may just be combining the two.

The foundations of West Ham's recent success (four wins in five) run through the English spine of their team. From Rob Green and Mathew Upson at the back, through to Carlton Cole up front, via Scott Parker and Mark Noble.

Interestingly, this group of players (with the exception of Cole on a good day) have mastered the safe rather than the spectacular. But their consistency has started to spread through the team resulting in committed performances all over the pitch.

Summer signings and findings such as Valon Behrami, Herita Ilunga and the outstanding Jack Collison have followed the lead of the more established players, and West Ham are beginning to look a team again.

No on-pitch orchestrator in the Di Canio mould as yet, but maybe this side's equivalent is to be found sat on the bench or patrolling the touchline issuing orders.

Too early yet to tell whether this side can prize it's way into the club's aesthetics Hall of Fame -but signs that Zola, like his fans, understands that as a mark of true success.

The Race for the Title

The marathon that is the English Premier League season has reached its half way point. This is the first real marker at which we can gauge anything truly meaningful concerning current league position and end of season league standings. Management, players and fans alike are beginning to get an inkling of what sort of season they're in for and are readying themselves to watch the necessary horror or excitement ensue.

The Premier League has long had much to recommend it as the best in the world, and this season, an increase in the number of breathtakingly outstanding matches, and a genuine three-horse title race has further pushed this claim. Rafael Benitez's patient rebuilding program at Liverpool has finally seen his side able to launch a credible challenge for league honours, joining Chelsea and Manchester United in the title hunt. 

Reluctant at first to acknowledge what could still prove to be another false dawn, the media are starting to come round to the possibility of the league title returning to Liverpool for the first time in 20 years. Indeed, many are predicting the return of the title to Merseyside. 

And they have a chance. Benitez knows his squad - its strengths and limitations - most of the players are his buys, and he finally has a system suited to his personel which is effective if not spectacular. At no point this season have Liverpool played the league's most attractive football, but at the turn of the year their results have been good enough to land them in pole position.

Aesthetics has never been Benitez's priority and this is a philosophy justified through recent results. Pairing Mascherano and Alonso together in the middle of midfield invites no comparisons with Brazil, but in terms of ball winning and retention of possesion the two have provided a superb base from which the team can build. The system seems to get the best out of their outstanding captain Stephen Gerrard and they have even managed to go long periods without the prolific Fernando Torres.

Good as Liverpool have been, they have somewhat relied on the indifferent results of the other top teams. In addition, a failure to capitalise on the inconsistent results of their rivals has resulted in only the narrowest of leads. This failure to put any real daylight between themselves and the chasing pack raises questions about Liverpool's title credentials.

On top of this there remains a doubt that Liverpool can up the stakes in the likely event that either one or both of Manchester United and Chelsea decide to really come to the party. Effective if not spectacular, it is hard to see that Liverpool have an extra gear to ease into in order to break away from the pack. They have been good, but little evidence suggests they can be better. By contrast, Chelsea's early season form shows they are capable of much better than they have produced in recent months.

While a Chelsea resurgance is possible, using history as a guide, a Manchester United cavalry charge is inevitable. Ferguson, a veteran and master of title run-ins, has yet to see his side fire on all cylinders this season. We know this because at no point have they matched last seasons imperious form, and the only transfer activity involving them since last season has significantly strengthened their squad.

By definition they possess a squad of title winners, and in contrast with Liverpool they have portrayed the impression of playing within themselves. The idea that they have an advanced level of performance into which Ferguson can expertly guide his team spells danger for the other two title contenders. 

So it remains to be seen where the title will end up in its seventeenth season. In the marathon of the Premier League season Liverpool are the early pacesetters but the figure of Manchester United looms ominously on their shoulders.