DISQUS

I have gripes with clubs who call themselves "big" that have the resources and capability but still play rubbish football. My personal criteria for what i deem a "big club" involves the style of football played.

Small clubs or small footballing nations i can understand the pragmitism...

RVP, Robben, Saha, Owen, Ashton and on a total different level Messi, all good players all injury prone.

correction zidane had (not have) on that team

Michael, RVP has already reported to Van Basten that he wants to play through the middle. As a result he will be resigned as second choice forward (infront of much hyped Huntelaar and Celtic big man with the long name) and may start in the game against Romania. Also Sneijder is likely to fall back deep to partner the impressive Engelaar if Robben is fit (again his return date likely to be Romania) thus replacing the subtle De Jong who i like very much as a player. France as i expected cannot rely on Ribery to replicate the influence Zidane have, nor can they rely on their wingers/fullbacks esp the ones chosen by Domenech to break down discipline teams. Add to the fact they play two defensively minded midfielders (both impressive but have no real goal scoring threat) and the ridiculous laid back tactics employed against Romania (not to press up the park nor attempt to be really win the game in tactical changes), and you have disaster. Though in the context a draw may not be a poor result. Decision to leave Trezeguet home and rely on the tried and tested rather than who is on form could be crucial.

I still expect Italy to get out of the group. Traditionally they are slow starters however Donadoni has to realise that the Milan midfield will not work. The selection of De Rossi, Cassano (my pick), Chellini, Gamberini, Del Peiro and/or Grosso would revitalise this Italian team.

down here in aus we are getting the martin tyler commentary on free to air tele and on setanta we are getting the bbc and itv feeds depending on the game shown. More importantly we get the half time analysis. Excellent presentation by all in my opinion.

[quote]The Mexico international will sign a five-year deal in a move which will cost an initial £4.7m and could rise to £8.6m depending on appearances.[/quote]

Seems a reasonable deal. As i've said before i don't think Dos Santos has developed at the level say Anderson and Vela from the u17s. He could well be a success in England but is still quite a distance from the finished article. He has yet to show his full potential and what should concern is his arrogant mentality that has been reported by the papers in Spain, which along with not getting first team football, is why he is leaving Barcelona. His attitude is a problem especially considering he has yet to achieve anything at senior level football.

One of the few decisions i agree with Domenech on is that Diarra is a better option in midfield than say Flamini. Surely if he stayed at Arsenal he would be in the team. Aside from his obvious attitude problems i think Diarra is a much more dynamic footballer than Flamini capable of become a main stayer in the French midfield.

deserves not deserved...ahh im tired off to bed

Noway in hell they are getting 80m and arguably the best defender in the world Sergio Ramos. Messi's release clause is about 100 odd million but even if someone was to meet that clause he wouldn't agree on personal terms. the bloke owes his career to Barcelona considering they were the only club willing to fork out the dough for his HGH.

And Kartik trying to put it as nice as i can, but some of the stuff you spout is mind blowing at times..lol I'm not convinced by ALL the hype (still think Messi is a better footballer but he can't get fit which is unfortunate) but Cronaldo had a phenomenal season and deserved the appropriate praise.

The world cup win definitely inflated his stock in the game. I still believe his performances at the world cup where phenomenal but playing in Spain perhaps has either shown his flaws or as wanderer put it indicated that he is past it. We saw how they dealt with an injury blow to Nesta (arguably better than Cannavaro) pre world cup and certainly Italy are not short of a few defenders. TBH i think their squad is the most complete of all the teams participating.

Not a massive fan of Babel but tactically he offered them flexibility. Good player potentially...i wonder who gets called up....

Gio dos santos i don't think has developed people expected since his displays at that u17 tournament a few years ago. He was the playmaker in that tournament and had a good eye for a pass and exceptional with his feet. His much bigger physically now but its interesting to read the Spanish media who touted his big billy boot mentality as a problem at Barca. Could be a good signing for Tottenham still not sure if he lives up to the price tag they are rumoured to pay.

Richard Dunne i think is a solid defender who will partner Woodgate. King is a phenomenal defender when fit however Ramos appears to have lost patience with the club captain and its likely if he ever gets fit he will have to fight for his place. Dawson i think is okay but i'm not a big fan, was linked to newcastle but said he wants to fight for his place...said it before Dunne came into the picture though. Kaboul is a deadbeat professional and like Bocenegra can put a few goals in for his team but can't defend nor play a simple pass to save his life. He should be on his way out.

Steve Clarke has good support from the board, players and fans. The reality is he wants a job in the championship and has been piping for one for a while however no club has approached him i believe.

As a neutral, i thought Beckham besides the assist slowed England's play down and it looked like the team were playing with two right backs. Saying that Bentley didn't really offer the danger in set pieces that Becks did when Capello made the change. With more game time Bentley will offer a more dynamic option for England on the wings along with Ashley Young.

England definitely started tentatively playing balls backwards and sidewards and odd hoff up the field. However they were allowed to settle and play themselves into some sort of form in the game simply because the USA team were even more impotent in attack with the horrible Clark in midfield. Quite simply the Americans couldn't keep possession of the ball for more than a few passes . Dempsey i thought did his best even though he gave away some needless fouls. Adu gave them a bit of spark but i had to laugh when he took that joke of a set piece.

Defoe didn't have the best of nights when it came to finishing but the pint size striker gave to the US cbs a hell of headache with his runs. I think playing behind the striker is the best position for Rooney. When he got the ball he added quality to the team and outlet most of the time.

Agree Gerrard had a good game playing similarly to Rooney, behind the striker and making runs to complement the forward (later he dropped deeper into midfield as the playmaker). As the game went on the trio (defoe, rooney, gerrard) developed some sort of understanding and they played some nice one touch football not a description of England in the past. BTW

I thought Hargreaves was exceptional, he galvanized England esp early on when both teams were mediocre in possession.

The dutch formation is actually up in the air to a certain degree. During qualifying and prev tournaments the media and players commentated on the problems of playing 4-3-3 most notably RVP who had expressed concerns about playing on the wing of the three. So Van Basten did agreed to a formational change to a alternative of4-3-3 the 4-2-3-1 (4-42mag/worldsoccer) which still allows for individual skill and one on one situations as well as covering what on paper is not a top quality defence.

On paper the backline looks weak however in reality that hasn't really been the problem if you look at qualifying. Scoring goals and getting RVV and Sneijder to work well together remains the conundrum for the Oranje. The consensus is the defensive midfielder remains a big problem.

For Germany. Odonkor should make the final cut, i'm a big fan but was surprised he managed to get himself into a strong germany squad considering he has had an injury ridden season at Real Betis. Mario Gomez if he gets himself fit will and should partner Klose upfront.

Kartik I agree whole heartly that Grant is no idiot. I think a lot of his critics think he is some bloke Roman picked off the street. I respect most of those who have got to the heights of football greatly, what happens day in day out on the training pitch i do not know so i always find certain criticism of team selection and tactics a bit harsh. However saying that i think he always going to struggle with the media and the environment in the PL. And because of that i think it's the right decision for both parties.

Michael, i didn't direct my comments about Clarke or Cate towards yourself specifically, but that's what comes across with people of similar opinion to yours. If your saying he got out coached based on the lottery of a penalty shootout i find that very very harsh indeed (Ferguson hadn't won a penalty shootout up until that game against Chelsea i'm pretty sure). Anelka is a professional you don't get paid that amount of money and complain about taking a penalty, Anderson/Belletti (a Grant sub) didn't! And Terry, well obviously he was hitting them alright in training and he hit the BAR after he slipped so again... your nit picking...imo I'm surprised at the lack of criticism directed at that half arse professional Drogba.

TBH i don't find a problem with Essien at RB. It splits a lot of fans and writers. Makelele has played very well since Grant opted to play him in front of the back four. I think people have forgotten that when Essien was in the midfield before and just after the ANC he was not his commanding self. So much so he was left out of the team for Ballack and Lampard. Belletti against Ronaldo, i think that is a disaster waiting to happen. Belletti is great at going forward but can't defend to save his bacon. I could see reason for Ferrira at RB (cause he has played well againt Cronaldo in the past) but again i just feel if Grant was to tinker with his team selection people would jump all over his back if the result was negative. And once again i can't see where you can fit Anelka into a team when people are wanting Essien in midfield as well...

In the end the results speak..Grant won nothing however some thought Chelsea would crumble behind Arsenal and Liverpool when Mourinho left and they havent. The transfer window will be mighty interesting...

Germans or Italians are probably the obvious choices. I'm not sold on Portugal (no CF) or the Netherlands (continue squad unrest and defence looks leaky although not essentially the problem). Both teams on paper aren't as strong as the Italians, Germans, French or Spain. I'll be pulling for Spain and will hope Ricardo Quaresma lights it up but my prediction is no fun, its Italy.

One thing that gets on my tits are people who blame Grant for failures yet give credit to the players, to his assistant Clarke who can't even get a job in the championship or Cate who is hated by the players. I'd agree it's the correct move for Chelsea to go forward. I think tactically (viewing from the surface) Grant is fine. The thing he lacks is the charisma, the motivational skills and the ability to win over armchair journalists. He didn't get "outcoached" in the UCL final. That is rubbish spouted by people from WSD. How so? They dominated the second half, hit the wood work a couple of times and not for Terry's miss penalty who knows? He won nothing. Ferguson's team were exceptional in the first half BUT grant rectified the problem in the second half. He didn't make subs immediately but made the instructional move telling Essien to push UP the field.

On to Anelka, let's be honest here Anelka was bought for a direct replacement for Drogba (in ANC i presume) because Sheva and Pizarro weren't up for it. He wasn't bought to pair Drogba upfront THIS SEASON. This team has played 4-3-3 for the last few seasons and only under the Sheva experiment when they had a whole preseason converted to a 4-4-2. And in any case if you play Anelka who do you exactly drop? Those most critical of Grant's tactically analysis don't even attempt to understand his decisions. Whether they turn out to be right or wrong especially when they turn out to be wrong then people jump up and down twice as much as when they turn out to be right.

Grant might not be a great manager (like Gerard Houlier perhaps who as the technical director of France was phenomenal but his career as a manager put people have questioned), i'm not arguing that but those who think his some sort of idiot are deeply mistaken. The bloke has been in football since he was 18 at lower levels and the highest levels (the Israel job isn't lower level, in a difficult group he remained unbeaten if remembered correctly and as TD your responsibilities are as important as the manager LOOK at Italy and Spain where this position has been employed for years and years and now the PL is beginning to do the same (West Ham hired Italian Nani as TD).

Either way their is an aussie on each side. Richard Garcia and Nicky Carle..

We just arent as big of a market down under for Pl clubs. Leeds i think was the last club side from England to make the trip here. Juventus are coming as part of their Asian tour.

The kid has been hyped and linked with a lot of clubs over the last few seasons. These reports look concrete. The concern i suppose is whether he will have an immediate impact at Arsenal. His slight in frame but technically exceptional. Back in the UCL tie against liverpool just back from injury Nasri was subbed on, although his team lost, the sporadic occasions he was on the ball, he looked a bit ahead of all the other players on the pitch IMO. Not entirely sure where he fits in positionally at Arsenal. Most recently he has played behind the one forward at the Velodrome i've heard from my French mates. Exciting prospect.

As mention the minimum release clause will have to be met. Perhaps it would be smart for Arsenal to buy the player before he gets game time at the Euros as that might prompt other teams with larger wage structures to act.

A bit off topic but i think a lot of Arsenal fans are very eager to see Vela in action. They should be no doubt but i think Arsenal fans should really curb their expectations a bit (from the fans i have talked to). The kid had a phenomenal season in the 2nd division a couple of seasons ago and has been good in his debut season in La Liga. He isn't going to be Arsenal's solution down the left wing immediately but hopefully he shows signs of promise.

I hope someone is reading this:
Firstly, if you read the interview word for word you would probably understand it properly. The english happen to have a way of saying he said he didn't imply. 1. His stated his ambition to play for atletico madrid, this is no different to drogba, cronaldo (incidentally has said he wanted to play for real madrid) or many players before them. 2. He doesnt drink, he said his finding it harder for him to feel part of the team because he hasn't existed in a culture which includes drinking. 3. He said that referees allow more than they do in italy, that is true. 4. And he said he doesn't like the food, which is fair enough.

He was talking to italian media in an interview he was asked questions and that is what he said... why people are pissed at him i have no idea.