Another Year Over

Since it's that time of year, I thought I'd compile a list of some memorable football moments over the past 12 months. This is a totally subjective list, so bear that in mind before leaving angry comments about the exclusion of so-and-so. I don't doubt that I've left out some footballing nuggets, but these are what came to mind in the 10 minutes I spent thinking about the year gone by. I'll try and include relevant Youtube clips where possible, because that's the kind of guy I am. And also, the list has no order. So without further adieu...

Fabregas v Milan

It was the second leg of the first Champions League knockout round. Milan had gotten a slightly fortuitous 0-0 draw at the Emirates, where Adebayor somehow managed to miss a header roughly 7 inches from the goal line. Most people thought Arsenal had blown their chance. The old dogs of Milan were said to be too wily to let this youthful Arsenal side get the result they needed on Italian soil. Cesc Fabregas and co. proved most people very wrong.

It was a team effort of course, with even Philip Senderos playing well for a change. But it was the little Spaniard that ran the show from beginning to end. His tackling was tenacious, his workrate second to none, and everything we've come to expect from Fabregas -- his impeccable decision making, his precise passing, his ability to control the tempo of a game -- was on song. He had been quite laboured in the weeks that led up to this game, and quite laboured afterwards as well, but in these 90 minutes he was the complete midfielder, showing the once imperious Pirlo how it's now done.

Discovering Football Weekly

I can't quite remember when exactly I discovered Football Weekly, but I know it was some time in 2008, so that's good enough for it to make the list. I've championed this podcast on the blog already, but I have no problem doing so again.

To put it plainly, my football experience is not complete until I hear the opinions of "the pod" on Monday afternoon and Thursday evening. For anyone who says that football is their favourite sport, Football Weekly is practically required listening. If you haven't yet discovered the joy of it, then do so as soon as possible. There will be a new podcast up on Monday the 29th. I strongly encourage you to listen to it.

Arsenal v Liverpool

Another Arsenal related moment. This time the Gunners were faced with a tricky tie against Liverpool at Anfield (Liverpool in the Champions League and all that jazz) after coming out of the first leg at the Emirates with an unjust 1-1 draw (it should really have been 2-1, with Bendtner blocking a goal bound effort from Fabregas, and the referee denying Hleb a stone wall penalty after the Belarusian had danced his way into the box with his patented nimble footwork). Arsenal had to score at Anfield, and boy did they do just that and then some.

They completely dominated for 30 minutes, playing some of the best football of the season. The goal came from a neatly worked move, and at that point it almost looked like it was just a question of how many Arsenal would score. But then the Senderos factor kicked in. Having completley lost one of the most dangerous aerial threats of the last 10 years in the form of Sami Hyypia at a corner, Senderos then went on to give about 3 yards of space in the box to one of the most potent finishers in the Premier League, and Torres accepted the gift by guiding the ball into the top corner.

The game seemed to just drift away from Arsenal, until Theo Walcott produced a moment of unbelievable brilliance. Never did I think him capable of such things, but he proved me and a host of other people very wrong. It was just incredible to watch, and a moment worthy of winning any tie. Unfortunately for Walcott and Arsenal, it wasn't sufficient to win this tie. In keeping with their season, Arsenal managed to overshadow their attacking prowess by switching off mentality, and allowing Liverpool to go straight back up the field and win a (soft) penalty. A fourth Liverpool goal followed, and Arsenal's Champions League dream was shattered.

Still though, this was easily the game of the season for me, and one that will live long in the memory. If I did have an order to this list, this game would probably be at the top.

Terry Penalty

England's lion heart. England's war hero. Chelsea's rock, their heartbeat, their captain fantastic. John Terry has received all sorts of praise over the years, but in my opinion he has been vastly overrated. He is a good defender, but he's not even the best at his own club. That honour goes to Ricardo Carvalho, and it seems that it is the Portuguese defender's absence which is alerting people to this fact ironically enough.

Terry's missed penalty has of course nothing to do with his defensive capabilities, but you can forgive me for taking a certain amount of pleasure from seeing him completely fluff the chance to win Chelsea that much coveted Champions League trophy. Why he was the designated fifth penalty taker I do not know. The nasty part of me thinks that he just wanted the chance to be a hero, and selfishly decided to step up to the plate rather than letting someone with actual penalty taking abilities to the job. But then maybe no one else wanted the pressure, so JT took it upon himself when all else cowered at the chance.

Either way, he missed, and at that point you just knew who was going to go on and lift the trophy. The only disappointment was that had he scored the penalty, then Ronaldo would have been to blame for United's loss, and on a schadenfreude measuring device, I don't think anything could top that.

Messi v Ronaldo

When Man United and Barcelona were pitted against each other in the semi final of the Champions League, football fans' collective mouth began to water. The games themselves didn't quite work out as people thought they might. They were supposed to be end-to-end affairs, feasts of attacking football, but instead they were slightly cagey, with Barcelona having most of the ball and United defending superbly.

However, the subplot in this tie was equally intriguing. This was billed as 'Ronaldo vs Messi', the battle to see who really is the best player in the world. Of course all of this was sheer hype, and the best player in the world was never going to be decided during the course of two games. But that didn't stop people from getting worked up, with many probably seeing this as the chance for Ronaldo to show that he is the superior footballing specimen.

Well, he did nothing of the sort. If this was indeed Ronaldo vs Messi, then there was only one clear winner, and it wasn't the player who plucks his eye brows. Messi had been out for a month or so before the two games, but he was a constant thorn in United's side over both legs, producing some vintage 'Messi' moments along the way, some of which you can see here. There was a priceless piece of play in the first leg when Messi faced Ronaldo with the ball, waited for the pristinely groomed playboy to make a tackle, and just jinked by him in the blink of an eye. It served as a microcosm of the duo's battle.

The good news is that finally, after many, many months of hearing about Ronaldo's status as best in the world, people have woken up to the fact that the Camp Nou is the home of the world's best football player. The irony is that this realization was only cemented in popular belief around the time Ronaldo picked up the Ballon D'Or. That must really hurt the winker's ego..No wonder he's lashing out at everyone in sight.

Spain

It's very rare these days that the team who play the best football win a major trophy at international level. Since France's victory at Euro 2000, there hasn't really been a team worthy to be considered the best in the world/Europe. In 2002, Brazil won what was a distinctly average World Cup, 2004 saw a resolute but technically limited Greece side lift the European Cup, and the same can be said about the victorious Italian side of 2006, who were excellent in defense but quite laboured in the final third of the pitch. In each of these tournaments the quality was subpar, and only the Argentine team of '06 sticks out as being truly world class.

Euro 2008 broke the curse of dodgy international football, and it saw Spain break their long lived curse of being supreme under achievers. In truth, I think Spain have been vastly overrated in previous tournaments. Players like Etxeberria, Albelda, Baraja, Luque and Joaquin were getting games in 2004, but they were not really good enough to ever win anything. Compare them with Xavi, Iniesta, Senna, Villa and Fabregas and it is clear that the Spain team of 2008 really was a much better team than those of previous years. This was a team with genuine talent, a team that could have been justifiably branded as having under achieved by getting knocked out in the quarter finals.

However, this was to be their year, and never has a team so richly deserved to lift a trophy. They played the best football in a tournament full of good football, and I don't think there is any football fan who would begrudge them their victory. The defining moment of their tournament has to be the win over Italy in the quarter finals. This would usually have been the point for Spain to exit stage left, and having outplayed the Italian's for 120 minutes it seemed all set up for Italy to snatch victory courtesy of a penalty shootout. However, Fabregas was given the chance to exorcise a host of demons, and the former Barcelona prodigy made no mistake, cooly slotting the ball past one of the best goalkeepers ever to grace the sport.

This monumental win lifted the heavy burden off of Spanish shoulders, and they went on to dispatch Russia by playing their best football of the tournament, and ended proceedings by completely outclassing Germany in the final.

Euro 2008 was not only a victory for Spain though - it serves as a victory for football in general. The Spanish team didn't contain any immense physical specimens like Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo. This was a victory for brain over braun. A victory for intelligence over physicality. Spain showed that playing football the way it should be played, the way that makes it the beautiful game, is the best way to win things. They have set the bar when it comes to international football, and given the relative youth of the side, it could be a while before they are knocked off their perch.

Barcelona v Athletico

There is no doubt as to which is the best club team at this moment in time, despite what the Fifa Club World Cup (or whatever it is called) might tell you. Barcelona have won 13 of 16 league games, scoring 48 goals and conceding only 10. If they were in the Premier League, they'd be third, 4 points behind Liverpool and 1 behind Chelsea, with four games in hand. As it is, they are first in La Liga, a massive 10 points clear of their nearest 'rivals' - hardly surprising given that they are averaging 3 goals a game, and have just beaten four of the best teams in Spain by an aggregate score of 11-1.

I've watched a lot of their games, but the one that stands out is the tie against Athletico Madrid. While Athletico were missing a few players, what Barcelona did to them was just catastrophic. The Catalan giants were 3-0 up after seven -- yes, seven -- minutes, and 5-1 up after twenty eight. It finished 6-1 in the end, but only because Barcelona didn't want to embarrass their opponents.

At the beginning of the season when Barcelona had lost and drawn their opening two fixtures, the ever excellent Sid Lowe (who will be in the pod today on Football Weekly) said that it's only a matter of time before Barcelona start clicking and beat someone 24-0. Well, they haven't quite managed 24, but they have won 6-1 (x2), 6-0, 5-0, 4-0, 4-1, and have generally looked unplayable.

While people are saying that Barcelona pose the biggest threat to another Champions League of Anglo domination, it seems more correct to say that the English teams pose the biggest threat to Barca domination. A slightly shakey defense still leaves a large question mark looming over their Champions League-winning credentials, but if they continue on this form in the new year and get past Lyon in the last 16 of the CL, then they will be the team that nobody (not even Liverpool) wants to draw.

Abu Dhabi Group

The comical tales of Messi and Kaka going to City aside, this takeover could well be the start of something very serious in world football. While Manchester City hover in and out of the relegation zone, the events of August 31 await their fulfillment in the January transfer window, and in the summer ahead. Nobody quite knows what's going to happen. Who will move to the Eastlands? Will players such as David Villa want to go? Or will City just end up buying the Shevchenko's of this world - former great players who are looking for a hefty retirement package?

There is talk of players like Bellamy, Defoe, and Parker moving to City, but if the Abu Dhabi group and Manchester City are serious about getting into the Champions League then they must overlook such third tier players. They need to look outside the Premier League for the players that they need, starting with Diego of Werder Bremen. A striker will most definitely be sought after, but Defoe and Bellamy don't represent good options. City should be looking to play a 4-2-3-1 formation (all the cool kids are using it these days), and I don't think such a formation will suit Defoe, and if Bellamy wasn't good enough for a bad Liverpool team then he shouldn't be good enough for a side looking to eventually break into the top 4. He's a mid-table player, nothing less and nothing more.

By signing Robinho, City have set the standard pretty high. I had my doubts about him -- some of which remain -- but you can't deny that he is a first or second tier player; his wonder goal against Arsenal and his last minute strike against Blackburn prove as much. But he needs good company (no pun attended). Will the Abu Dhabi group be able purchase the required personnel? We await with baited breath.

Ireland's goal v Hull

While Robinho has been quite the success story for City this season, he has actually been eclipsed by a 22 year old Irishman in the form of Steven Ireland. The former Cobh Ramblers youngster has been nothing short of excellent so far this season, and if the award for player of the season was given out now, he might well be the favourite to pick it up.

He has had many great moments in a City shirt so far, a personal favourite of mine being his performace against Hull on Boxing Day when he scored one and assisted three, giving me 38 points in Fantasy Football since I had him as captain.

However, the moment that encapsulates his season so far is his second goal against Hull back in November. He controlled the ball outside the box, and as it landed to the ground he just guided it into the bottom corner on the half-volley. It was a Robinho-esque piece of magic, and yet it was produced by someone who can play for the Irish national team. Speaking of which, if Steven Ireland isn't in the next Irish squad then Trapattoni needs his large head examined. At the moment he's the best Irish player I've seen since Roy Keane, and if we are to acheive anything then Steven Ireland must be reinstated, no matter how many grannies he's killed off.

Robin Good

Nothing much in the way of new insights can be gained from the Arsenal v Liverpool clash on Sunday. Liverpool won't win the league, and neither will Arsenal.

However, the game did produce two very good goals. Robbie Keane's first time strike following Agger's 'Hail Mary' was exceptional, especially given the fact that it was produced by a striker so short of confidence that his manager would rather bank on a pretty poor defensive midfielder finding the net than him (which is really just rubbing salt into a gaping wound). In most other games, Keane's goal would be easily the pick of the bunch. But not in this game.

Robin van Persie's goal was just riddled with class. Agger's punt required good movement from Keane, and a precise finish. However, Nasri's pinpoint pass required of van Persie exquisite close control, quick thinking, nimble footwork, and both his left and his right foot (the latter of which seems to have improved remarkebly, what with him scoring at least 3 very good goals with it this season...although maybe it has always been good, and I just never noticed[?]).

There really is no teaching what Van Persie did on Sunday. Many strikers could produce Keane's finish every once in a while, but very few could ever even think of doing what van Persie did, let alone do it. I don't want to sound like I'm going way over the top here, but this goal is honestly the greatest goal ever scored, and it was scored by the best player ever to grace a football field.

OK so neither of those stataments are even remotely true, but this is a special goal nonetheless, and van Persie is a special talent. He's not yet consistent enough to be considered one of the best around, but as I wrote before, he's getting there, and he's getting there quite quickly. Don't be surprised if he's snapped up by a club that actually plan on winning things come summer time*.


* Although given the latest rumours to surface regarding the transfer window, it seems as if Arsene Wenger may be dusting off the Arsenal FC wallet and going against every fibre of his being by making a big signing and thus aiming to win a trophy. Arshavin perhaps? Or Tevez? I'd be incredibly surprised if either of those go through, but it would certainly be a step in the right direction...although I'm not convinced they need Tevez. They do need a creative spark to fill the void left by Hleb though. As I've said in a previous post, he was the biggest loss during the summer, and his departure is the main reason for why Arsenal just aren't as aesthetically pleasing any more. Shooting and goalscoring and all that unimportant stuff may not have been his specialty, but by God he could dribble.

Uh Oh Lawro

You may or not be aware of this, but Mark Lawrenson actually said something of interest yesterday. Unfortunately for Lawro however, it landed him in some pretty hot water, so don't expect him to come out with anything of the sort again.

So what did he say and where did he say it? Well, he said it talking to Irish media of course. Isn't it great that we Irish have the gift of making football people be completely candid, and getting them to say whatever the hell they want to say? I think so. Being an analyst in England is like being a caged animal, or even a circus animal that performs the same tricks week in week out. However, the Irish media lets the animal out of the circus. It's as if people see Eamonn Dunphy and think "Well if he can get away with it then why can't I?" so they end up being refreshingly honest, albeit largely wrong (some things can't change).

In talking to Today FM, Lawrenson probably got a bit too excited about his latest scoop, forgot about the fact that people in England can still hear about things that happen in Ireland, and went beyond the call of duty, at least in the eyes of LFC. Here's what he had to say regarding a topic I wrote about not so long ago:

"Sorry to name drop but I had a drink with Steven Gerrard at a function on Saturday night, and we were talking about Robbie Keane...He was saying to me that they [Keane and Gerrard] share the same agent and he thinks something is going to happen with Robbie Keane in January...He thinks he's going to be moved on."

First of all, sorry to name drop? Yeah right! You just wanted to shout the fact that you had a drink with Gerrard from the roof tops, didn't you Mark? My guess is that Lawro just made the whole Robbie Keane thing up in order to let it be known that he had a drink with Stevie G. He couldn't just say "So I had a drink with Steven Gerrard" and leave it at that. After all, that would just come off as a pathetic attempt to name drop, which is clearly not what Lawro wanted to do [???]. Instead, Lawrenson decided to attach an interesting but fictional piece to his Gerrard encounter, just so he could let it be known that he is on drinking terms with Steven Gerrard, but without sounding like that's all he wanted people to know. Nice try, Mark.

Of course being reasonable people, we can only assume that Lawrenson wasn't just making this whole thing up, right? I mean if we were to find out that none of this was true, and that Steven Gerrard never said that he thinks Robbie is going to be moved on, then I don't think the BBC would have any choice but to sack Mark Lawrenson based on his penchant for downright lying, nor would the Sun have any choice but to hire him for that exact reason. After all, one man's Busted is another man's Led Zeppeilin, or something...

Well all of this happened yesterday, and it left the footballing world in quite a stir, while Robbie Keane was probably left crying into his laptop screen wondering how in the world he could be moved on while Dirk Kuyt gets to stay. I'd love to be at Liverpool's training ground today, that's for sure.

But alas, this isn't the end of the tale. Lawrenson has come out saying things again, only this time he has retracted the one interesting piece of information he has ever given us. Why, Mark, why!? Larwo now claims that all of what he said on Today Fm was his own opinion, failing to realise that we gave up paying attention to his opinion long ago, and would actually rather lies than it. Anyway, here's what he said today about what he had to say yesterday:

"I'm sorry if it caused any aggravation but it wasn't meant to. Steven Gerrard's name should never have come up in terms of Robbie Keane going in January. It wasn't Steven saying that it was me saying it.

"The only connection I was making between the two was that they have the same agent and I have had a hunch for a while that Keane could go.

"But that is my opinion and nothing whatsoever to do with any conversations I had with Steven Gerrard.

"I happened to mention I spoke to him on Saturday night but I didn't mean for that to come across in the way that it has been interpreted."

So he did just do it for the sake of name dropping! That's real classy, Mark. Real classy.

What I'm not clear about is that referring to Gerrard, Lawrenson clearly said yesterday that "He thinks he's [that is, Keane] going to be moved on". But now he's saying that it wasn't Steven Gerrard saying that, but rather that is his own opinion? Did Lawrenson even have a drink with Gerrard at all, or was he just having both a drink and a conversation with himself? Or perhaps he did have a drink with Gerrard, but then quoted himself in the third person.

And where does the agent fit into it? If Gerrard never said anything regarding Keane, then mentioning their mutual agent is utterly meaningless. Saying that he was just trying to make a connection between Gerrard and Keane becomes completely redundent, because we're well aware of a pretty strong connection already - they both play for Liverpool! The fact that they share the same agent means diddley squat if Gerrard didn't voice an opinion on the Keane situation, which Lawro is now saying he didn't.

Honestly, given that I have trouble believing that someone would just make this whole story up for Irish radio, I think Gerrard did say those things, but then Lawro realised that he really shouldn't be repeating them in public. Now he's just trying to cover his tracks, but there's really no way to do that unless he wants to brand himself as either a complete fool or a filthy liar. If I were Lawro, I'd play the "fool" card. I don't think people will have trouble buying into that.

As Good As It Gets

First of all, as far as I'm aware there is now a 50% chance the either Chelsea or Arsenal will draw Barcelona in the next round. Since Barcelona can't face either of the Madrid's, Villarreal, or Sporting Lisbon, that only leaves four teams for them to be pitted against, two of which are English. This represents bad news for these three giants, but great news for rivals and neutrals. For Man Utd, there is a 50% chance that one of their biggest rivals will be eliminated from the competition. Maybe finishing first was actually the best thing after all. Stupid maths.

Anyway, the main reason I write is that there has been a lot of talk about the group stages this time around, with people pining for the days of old when it was either a competition strictly for champions, or a straight knock-out competition, or both. I have to say that I completely disagree with each and every one of these sentiments. Do people really want to see the Bulgarian champions play European football instead of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Villarreal? I hope not. We want to see the best teams play, and so if the fourth best English or Spanish team is better than the champion of an Eastern European league then so be it. (Of course there has to be limits, and I think top 4 is a suitable limit.)

It seems like people long for the days of cup upsets, where bin men and lorry drivers play in big matches and have a "great day out" etc etc. Well if I wanted to see useless players play with big hearts, I'd go to Eircom League games every Friday night. But no. I want to see the best teams play against each other. I don't want to see a final between Porto and Panathenaikos. I don't want to see Barcelona eliminated in the first round of a competition thanks to some heroic defending by the opposition or a bad refereeing decision or whatever. I don't care what anyone says - these one-off upsets are not what football is all about. Ask yourself this - did you prefer Euro 2004 or Euro 2008? Did you enjoy seeing the minnows of Greece triumph by defending very, very well, or did you enjoy seeing Spain pass their way to the winners podium?

Yes the group stages of the Champions League this year weren't very exciting, and virtually every team in the knock-out stages could have been predicted to be there from the get go. But that didn't mean that the lesser teams didn't have a chance. There was still room for excitement. Zenit St Petersburg could have ousted Real Madrid. Bordeaux could have beaten Chelsea. Arsenal could have lost to Dinamo Kiev. They didn't, but they could have.

The problem therefore is not in the format. The "problem" is that the good teams are better than the bad teams. Does that mean we should even out the playing field by trying to get more bad teams advancing further? No, of course not. They all had their chance in the group stages, but they weren't good enough to cause any upsets. And so what we have left is arguably the best selection of teams that the knock-out stage has seen. I mean do the people who yearn for the good ol' days want to maybe take Barcelona and Chelsea out of there and replace them with Basel and Steau Bucharest? Would that spice things up a bit? Me thinks not.

As far as I'm concerned, the current Champions League format is as good as can be, and the reforms being introduced next year to improve it will actually only serve to weaken it (more bad teams = worse quality, right?). I was thinking about ways to improve it last night, and all I could think of was the following, which has some fundamental flaws:

Instead of playing everybody twice in the group stages, you play them once, with the top two advancing. The remaining 16 teams are then put into four groups, and from there it basically becomes a prolonged (former) European Championships - 4 groups, play each other once, top 2 go through to the quarter finals etc. The problem of course arises with home and away games. There wouldn't be an even number in the group stages. That (substantial problem) aside however, I think such a format would be incredibly exciting, while at the same time allowing the cream to rise to the top. Agree?

But apart from that slightly whacky idea, I think there can be no improving on the present format. Yes there wasn't much to cheer about this time around, but remember when Utd finished last in their group? Or when Liverpool had to win their three remaining games to qualify? Or when Chelsea were in the same group as Barcelona? I just think people are humming this "the Champions League is a sham" tune for the sake of it, without actually taking into account the bigger picture. With the prospect of a sensational knock-out stage to come, it's all a bit premature really. One wonders what these same people will be saying if next February we get to see Chelsea v Barcelona on Tuesday night and Man Utd v Real Madrid on Wednesday, with highlights of Arsenal v Bayern Munich and Liverpool v Inter.

Maths Can Be Fun...Kind Of

You'd think that topping the group would be the priority in the Champions League, right? Well, thanks to some less than scientific analysis, I've reasoned that it's actually in Arsenal's interest to come second (and hence United's too), which is quite possibly why Wenger has his kids playing tonight.

I've taken all of the group winners and runners up, and given them a number based on their position in their respective leagues. Of course it required some guess work as to who is going to finish where tonight, but I think my assumptions are fairly accurate. Here's how I think it will pan out (excl. Arsenal, Porto, and the teams Arsenal can't draw):

Group Winners
Roma = 13
Barcelona = 1
Panathenikos = 3
Lyon = 1
Juventus = 2

Runners-Up
Inter = 1
Sporting = 3
Athletico Madrid = 6
Villarreal = 2
Bayern Munich = 2
Real Madrid = 5

Simply put, the group of teams that has the lowest average score is the one you want to avoid, right?

Well, based on who Arsenal can meet in the next round, the group winners have a total of 20. Divide that by 5 and you get an average of 4. The runners-up have a total of 19, so divide that by 6 and you get 3.166. Therefore it's better for Arsenal to finish 2nd. It's a deeply flawed system I know, but I think it's actually pretty accurate. I mean you can pretty much tell it's right based on just looking at the two lists.

However, should Man Utd be aware of this, then it's actually in their interest to finish where Arsenal finish. Since they can't draw the Gunners in the next round regardless, they're much better off giving themselves the chance to draw Porto.

For Arsenal, they're better off finishing second no matter where Utd finish.

The argument that Roma adding 13 points to the group winners total is an aberration is fair one, but I think that's mainly balanced out by the fact that Panathenikos are a dream ticket, and Lyon play in the French League, and they've yet to cause the big boys any trouble in past tournaments.

The more I've written, the more I've become aware that this make very little sense, but the bottom line is that Arsenal, and consequently Man Utd, should finish second. And for the neutral, that would mean a 50% chance of seeing Barcelona play one of the English teams in the next round. Wouldn't that be exciting? As dull as the group stages have been at times, I think we're in for a cracking knock-out stage, and I can't wait until the draw takes place on Friday week.

Robbie Keane (I guess I'm not feeling imaginative today)

Rafa: Don't repeat this to anyone, but I'm planning on building this club around Dirk Kuyt
Robbie: Say what?

I'm seriously considering devoting my blog to the rigorous study of every single word written and spoken by Eamonn Dunphy. He's nothing if not controversial -- though some may argue that that's all he is, but I respectfully disagree -- and so it would be interesting to tackle the issues that Eamonn Dunphy sees fit for rants that more often than not break the law of non-contradiction. Example: Rant 1 - "Gerrard was found out tonight - a nothing player"; Rant 2 - "Gerrard is a top, top player."

This week in Eamonn's Daily Star column, he unabashedly declares that he'd rather have Robbie Keane in his side than Cristiano Ronaldo. Had he said this when Robbie was at the top of his game, well, it would still be absolute maddness. That's not to say I disagree mind you. I mean I would rather have Robbie Jackson on my team than Cristiano Ronaldo. But I don't argue that based on footballing reasons. I argue based on my unrivalled dislike of the Portuguese plonker. Dunphy on the other hand chose to go down the footballing route when trying to persuade his readers that Keane is better than Ronaldo, but at this point in time that's pretty much a lost cause.

He argues that Keane is a more intelligent footballer than Ronaldo, which I think is true. But then, who isn't a more intelligent footballer than Ronaldo? Put Stephen Hawking on a football pitch and I'm sure he'd have a much better footballing brain than Ronaldo. However, it wouldn't count for much in the grand scheme of things, and so it doesn't really count for Robbie, who might as well be sitting on a wheelchair for the 70 odd minutes that Rafa puts up with his headless chickenness.

Of course its not all Robbie's fault that he's doing so poorly. For starters, he's not a lone striker, and he never will be. Out of all the the qualities that make up a good lone striker, Robbie Keane possesses the following:

- none

He's slow, small, and weak. I don't think I need a fourth to show you that he's just not cut out to be a Didier Drogba type, or even a Fernando Torres type. And speaking of the overrated (yes, overrated) Torres, he is certainly not the kind of striking partner that Keane flourishes alongside. Keane needs a Niall Quinn, a Dimitar Berbatov, a Gary Doher...OK that's probably pushing it, but he needs someone who can nod the ball on, and someone with an intelligent football brain to link up with. In my opinion, Torres possesses neither of those qualities. There's a certain intelligence to his game alright, but not the kind that Keane can work efficiently with.

For me, the bottom line is that Keane and Torres will most likely never work. I may be proved wrong, but I just can't see them gelling. Can you? Robbie followed his heart by moving to Liverpool, but if he used his head he would have realised that his game just doesn't suit the "Liverpool way", and he would have either stayed at Tottenham or moved elsewhere. I certainly don't begrudge him joining the Reds, but if he finds himself struggling for form and out of favour, then at the end of the day he has nobody to blame but himself.

Kielty and Ferrer

I had the first-time experience of properly watching a La Liga match on Sky Sports last Saturday. My usual m.o. is to frantically search the vault of Sopcast or JustinTV in the hopes of finding coverage of the game where 1) the ball is visible, and 2) it doesn't cut out every 3 minutes. Given that these two things can be hard to come by for Spanish games, I'm more than willing to settle for Japanese commentary, or coverage where there are so many little information boxes on the screen that the only thing you can see is the ball. This is all part of the price you pay for being cheap, so far be it from me to complain.

Of course all of this meant that seeing a game on an actual television was such a treat for me. I didn't care that the presenter looked like the love-child of Paul Bettany and Patrick Kielty. In fact that was a plus if anything. Neither did the fact that Albert Ferrer was the one and only analyst bother me. OK it did bother me. But having only one analyst always bothers me. In fact, analysts in general bother me, but that's another issue entirely. The point is, Albert Ferrer has strange hair and therefore he can't be trusted. That is the point, isn't it?

To be honest, I didn't hear either Patrick Bettany or Albert Ferrer say much, but that may well have been for the best. What I did behold was a very good Barcelona team, and two very good goals scored by the best player in the world. His second was more and more impressive every time I saw it. A pinpoint pass from Hleb (whose passing is extremely underrated) played Messi through, he had a quick glance at where the goals were in relation to where he was, took the ball beyond the keeper, and stroked it confidently into the net from around the edge of the box without so much as peeking at the goalposts a second time. A good player may well have carried the ball too far beyond the keeper, or hit the shot into the side-netting. But Messi did it all to perfection, making it look easier than it actually was. Can he get any better than this? Does he need to?

On the general subject of FC Barcelona, I'd be utterly shocked if they don't win the league. And if any club outside of England is going to win the Champions League, it will be the Catalan giants. There is very little I'm more sure about in life than that. In compelete disarray, the came mighty close to knocking Man Utd out of the competition last season, so who knows what they will be capable of in the months to come. RTE's *cough* student of the Spanish game Eamonn Dunphy is tipping Barcelona for mounting a serious threat, though I'm sure it comes with a warning that Puyol is rubbish and that "they're hopeless at the back, Bill". Of course they are still vulnerable in defense, but it took a corker from Scholes to break them last season, and they certainly haven't gotten any worse since then. Although that said, I have serious reservations about the defensive capabilites of Dani Alves. To be honest, in all the games I've watched I haven't actually seen him defend, so it will be interesting to see him pitted against a formidable winger such as, um, Albert Reira [?]. (As a sidenote, who are the good wingers these days, or does the position even exist anymore?)

All in all, it was a Saturday night well spent, and it certainly beat causing further damage to my eyes trying to make out where the ball was, and cursing Justin (whoever he is) when those horrible words "not broadcasting" appear on the bottom of my laptop screen. And always at a crucial moment as well. You do that on purpose, don't you? Damn you Justin...and your TV.

Hold Me

Tony Adams receiving the 'Harry treatment'

I just have to say, I'm quite tired of hearing all of the sentimental sewage emanating from White Heart Lane in recent weeks. Each and every one of the Tottenham players should be ashamed of themselves for the way they began the season, and we should be hearing nothing other than their bitter cries of regret when they talk to the press. I don't care if Juande Ramos told them to step onto the field and do the Macarena for 90 minutes, that doesn't excuse their 'woe is me' performances. They virtually sulked their way into getting a new manager by putting in half-hearted displays, which is about as professional as refusing to play for the club that pays your wages (the spirit of Dimitar Berbatov was well and truly alive even after his departure from the Lane).

Of course we all know how the story went - Harry came in, and suddenly Spurs started winning, and more importantly, started being incredibly lucky. One can't help but wonder, what is the big secret to his success? Why the amazing turn around? What kind of tactics are at the heart of this revival? Well, judging by what has been said over and over again, I think it can be summed up in one lame, cliched phrase - "an arm around the shoulder". Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, tacticians!? Here are some possible quotes from various Tottenham players which support Harry's tactile approach to management:

"I didn't have a clue what Juande was asking me to do, but Harry came in and put his arm around me and told me I was a fantastic player, and that gave me the belief I needed." - Darren Bent

"We have a lot of young players, so we needed someone like Harry to come in and put his arm around our shoulders and instill some confidence in us." - Jermaine Jenas

"I was feeling a bit down, but Harry came in and put his arm around my shoulder. He told me my hair didn't look silly, and that he even found me quite attractive." - David Bentley

"When Juande was here, he kept on telling me how fat I was. But Harry came in, put his arms around my stomach, and told me I wasn't that fat at all. It meant a lot to me." - Tom Huddlestone

"As soon as Harry came in, he put his arm around my shoulder and told me I was the best player he has ever seen. Then he started whispering sweet nothings in my ear, which to be honest I found a little uncomfortable, but that's just Harry's style." - Gareth Bale

"Harry told me I was rubbish, and that if I didn't do better I'd be sold. But he said those things while he had his arm around me, which made it easier to take." - Heurelio Gomes (At least we know there's a limit to Harry's adulations)

Basically, if the Spurs players are to be believed, Harry Redknapp came in to the dressing room on his first day and said "Group hug!!". Then he went around and told each of the players that they are fantastic, and hey presto, a win! However, this begs the question, how fragile are the Tottenham players' egos? From what I've heard in interviews, it sounds as if they each have the mentality of a particularly sensitive teenage girl, constantly looking for validation and approval. "Does my hair look OK?", "Do these boots match my shorts?", "Does my manager love me?". It's all rather pathetic really, which is why I think that it won't last. The marriage between the players and Redknapp has been consummated, no question, but once the sparks begin to dwindle I sense that the spirit of Dimitar Berbatov/Hannah Montana will kick in, and Tottenham will be back to square one again.

Of course Harry wasn't brought in to make Spurs a Champions League club. He was brought in for one reason, and that is to keep Spurs in the Premier League. He will manage that without any problems, so fair play to him for that, and fair play to the Spurs hierarchy who humbled themselves enough to bring in a relegation expert with a penchant for hugs. But if Tottenham have got any ambitions to go beyond being a bitter disappointment of a club, their players will have to grow a collective pair and start acting like professionals.

Gourcuff

If you haven't heard of Yoann Gourcuff, or if you've only heard the name but never seen him in action, then check out these two clips from last night's game against Chelsea:

Making a fool out of JT (the replay at the end shows it beautifully)

The New New Zidane?

I only saw the highlights, but he looked very, very impressive. I'll be damned if Milan don't take him back, or if he doesn't find himself in the Premier League having secured a £120m transfer to Man City. The boy has talent, no question. Whether he has what it takes to be up there with the best remains to be seen, but lets hope so.

Marcos Senna

My new favourite player. Why? Here's why.

Oh, and as an aside, he is one of the best, if not the best holding midfield player I've ever seen.

The Shame Of It All

Fill in the blank: Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Cannavaro, Kaka, ______?

Well, there's no right answer to that question, but I think it's safe to assume that one Cristiano Ronaldo will be the next name added to that list, and what a shame that really is. I'm not saying he shouldn't be voted World Player of the Year. However, his triumph will be more of a reflection of the dip in quality that world football suffered this past year than a reflection of Ronaldo's supreme status as the best footballer on the planet.

Cannavaro aside (though some may disagree), you could comfortably argue that each of the names listed above were the best around at that particular time - not just in terms of form, but in terms of talent and overall footballing pedigree too. They were magic to watch, and true stars of the game. Granted some of them had their flaws -- ranging from severe temper issues to consorting with male prostitutes -- but on the football field they were the creme de la creme. To question their place on a world XI would be foolish. These were professional footballers who made the game a delight to behold, a thing of beauty. They didn't go out to put on a show, but the sublimeness of their talent made it impossible not to be entertained and dazzled. (I'm aware that some of these players are still playing by the way. In fact Zidane is the only one who isn't now that I think about it.)

And then we come to Cristiano Ronaldo.

For me, Cristiano Ronaldo's case for winning the award is as strong as van Nistelrooy's would have been in 2003, except unfortunately for van Nistelrooy all of the good players hadn't just finished up their careers or gotten injured or played for a team in disarray, so he didn't really stand a chance, and rightly so. Horseface managed a staggering 44 goals that season, with the winner of the award Zinedine Zidane posting a not especially impressive 15. However, did anyone dispute Fifa's decision? Do we scratch our heads today and wonder how in the world 15-goal Zidane managed to beat 44-goal van Nistelrooy to the award? No, we don't. We wouldn't care if van Nistelrooy scored 74 goals that season, because that's not the point. That's right - goals aren't the point when it comes to watching football. That's the beauty of the game. There doesn't have to be a single score in a match , yet it can still be of the highest quality. And on the flip side, you can watch a 4-3 "thriller", yet it can absolutely abysmal. Sounds strange, right? 0-0 being better than 4-3? Well we all know it's true in terms of matches, but so it is with players also.

I mean if goals were all that mattered, then why don't we see Pippo Inzaghi popping up on the "best player in the world" lists of yesteryear? And where was Andy Andrew Cole's name when Roberto Baggio won the award in '93? The bottom line is that in the grand scheme of things, goals don't mean a whole lot when it comes to the "best in the world", and they are certainly not the measuring stick of success. Zidane or Figo where nowhere near as prolific as Lampard or Gerrard are today, yet the former were unquestionably better players in their time and did more for the beautiful game than either Lamps or Stevie G ever will.

Back to Ronaldo. He scored 42 goals last season, an astonishing feat for anyone, not to mention a winger (although we must bear in mind that he was a winger who took more shots than anyone else in the league, and probably even more than the whole Arsenal team combined). However, if all other things were equal, I wouldn't let him touch the award for World Player of the Year with a barge pole. Fortunately for the modest winger, all other things were not equal. Messi was injured, and when he wasn't, he was playing for a shambolic Barcelona side (the same goes for Xavi and Iniesta). Kaka also suffered an injury, and din't regain his form of old. Ronaldinho continued his downward spiral, Henry officially started his, and football outside of England was just a mess in general. To put it simply, there has been not one truly worthy candidate to win the award save for the 42 goal "genius". Unlike the big scorers of recent times, Cristiano Ronaldo's goals will actually be enough to see him crowned as the world's best, because the rest of the world decided to put its feet up for a year. However, was he the "best player in the world", and is he now? In my opinion the answer to both of those questions is "No". I still think he should get the award, but it should come with a giant asterix attached to it and a footnote that explains the above.

The players illuminating football (or with the potantial to illuminate football) today are Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Zarate (I can't believe nobody in the Premier League picked him up), Del Piero (the old dog still has it in him), Xabi Alonso, Deco, Lampard (to a limited degree), Fabregas, Van Persie, Benzema, Senna, Kaka etc. Cristiano Ronaldo would have to feauture somewhere on that list for the goals he continues to get, but he's not the joy to watch that some of the rest are.

In any sane man's books, Messi is the best player in world football right now. He's still got some improving to do, but the pocket-sized Argentinean really is a class above the rest. The two players who play behind him - Xavi and Iniesta - are a close second and third (which, incidentally, is why Barcelona are beating everyone 6-0). They both enjoyed an exquisite Euro 2008, and have continued that form on into the new season. So in other words, discounting January-May, these would be my 1-2-3 for World Player of the Year. You don't have to agree, but I think you'd be doing well to find three more consistent performers who play the game as it should be played. Cristiano is just not at their level in terms of footballing ability, intelligence, and professionalism. For example (and this is petty I know, but still) would any of them - or even any of the previous winners - have said the following:

"I think I did everything that is necessary to win and I want to continue doing even more."

This isn't the only time Ronaldo has backed himself (yes, backed himself) for the award, and it just sums him up really. When you couple this off-field nonsense with his on-field antics of diving, giving out out to his teammates, complaining to the referee, and showboating, he makes for a poor excuse for the best that football has to offer. Yes I'd give him the award, but I would do so with a large degree of shame weighing me down.

What It All Really Means

"The board has given him a vote of confidence." - He'll be sacked in a week or two, just so it doesn't like a complete knee-jerk reaction.

"He's a good squad player." - He's rubbish, but he can be play in a lot of positions.

"He's a good shot stopper." - He can save shots that you'd expect any goalkeeper to save, but he's crap on crosses and has no command of his area, i.e., he's a terrible goalkeeper.

"I'd be happy to stay at this club for life." - The only way I'm leaving is if someone offers me a truck load of money, so please, make a bid for me Real Madrid and I'll be out of here so fast it will make your head spin.

"It was a difficult decision for the ref to make, so I have a lot of sympathy for him. Anyway, these decisions even themselves out in the end." - We were just gifted three points because of a horrendous refereeing decision that was blatantly wrong. Cheers Mr Styles.

"The ref was awful throughout, and that decision at the end has cost us the match." - I'm aware that we just had a poor decision in our favour last week which has now been evened out, but I'm going to choose to ignore that and focus on the horrible state of refereeing, and how terrible our luck with bad decisions is.

"He's not a dirty player." - He's a filthy hacker who has been sent off more than anyone else at the club. You should see him in training. Yikes!

"He's a great man manager." - He doesn't have a clue about tactics or the subtle nuances of the game, but he gives good press conferences.

"He's a top, top player." - He's actually quite average, but he's English, so he must be one of the best around.

"We're not underestimating them." - We know they're rubbish, but it's not like I'm gonna admit that on television. I mean that would just be cruel.

"I can get even better." - I've reached the peak of my career, but I don't want anyone to know that.

"I should win World Player of the Year." - I'm a huge tool.

"He won't be able to make the international friendly midweek due to injury." - He's not in the least bit injured, but we don't want him to risk him, and to be honest, he doesn't even want to bother playing in the game anyway.

"He reads the game well." - He's as slow as Christmas.

"It's not just about me. It was a great team performance." - I was bloody good, wasn't I? And look how humble I am too.

Feel free to add your own as a comment!

Mixed Bag

Having posted about the decline of Arsenal right before they beat Man Utd in a thrilling contest I felt a bit silly. I was going to write another post saying I've got it all wrong, but I honestly didn't believe that. This weekend proved to me that the Man Utd game was not the rule but the exception to the rule - the rule being that Arsenal are indeed going backwards. Big four clashes involving Arsenal will still be pivotal with regards the title race, but they will only be pivotal for Arsenal's opponents. The Gunners will be doing well to hang on to fourth spot, but it may not be well enough to keep hold of their stars. Third wasn't last season, so there's no reason to believe fourth will be this time around.

In other news, it's good that Del Piero was given a few more lessons by Cristiano Ronaldo on how to take free kicks. The last hundred or so that crashed into the wall probably didn't do Alessandro much good (though he may well have learned that it's probably not the best idea to shoot at goal from virtually any position in your opponents half. Just at thought Cristiano). In case you didn't know, according to Sky Sports it was Ronaldo who taught Del Piero how to take a direct free kick, and I can only imagine that it won't be long before we hear that it was also Ronaldo who taught Oliver Bierhoff how to head the ball and Diego Maradona how to dribble.

While Ronaldo's free kicks were OK (although when you see the 99 that he misses you realise it's just mostly pot luck when they go in), you'll be doing well to find a better worked free kick scored over the weekend than this gem by Xavi/Messi/Everyone on the Barca team besides Valdez. Just watch it a few times and you'll see the meticulous set up no doubt conjured up by Pep. It's not rocket science of course, but it was the x factor that Barca needed in order to secure a valuable three points.

A Premier League handicap table consisting of Robbie Keane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard? Not sure about Keano, but the rest seems about right. Well done Paddy Power for telling it like it is.

Are You Xavin' A Laugh?

Why there are still gossip columns while the transfer window is shut I do not know, but there are, and even worse, I read them. Today's purveyors of lies ran quite an intriguing little story, claiming that Xavi Hernandez might be on his way to Old Trafford for 20m. First of all, I don't believe thid deal will ever take place. I mean why on earth would Barcelona sell the best central midfielder in the world - a player in his absolute prime - to Manchester United for the same amount of money that brought Robbie Keane to Liverpool? It would possibly be the dumbest sale ever to take place, so I can only conceive that Xavi's agent wants more money, ergo he's stirring up some rumours to try and get Barca to cough it up.

But while I don't believe there to be any real possibility of this move happening, it does raise an interesting discussion - something I talked about at the start of the season in an earlier post I think. One obviously can't blame Fergie for being interested in a player of the calibre of Xavi, but it does highlight the fact that he may well see a weakness in United's midifeld, a diagnosis which I wholeheartedly agree with. To spell out the situation in dire terms, Darren Fletcher has easily been Man Utd's best central midfielder this season. Need I say more?

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Anderson is not a replacement for Paul Scholes, nor is he ever going to be United's answer to Fabregas. He has important qualities, but he's just not creative enough, seeming more determined to stick his bulky posterior into the oppostion than make a clever pass. Then there's Carrick, who quite simply has very little quality in my opinion. His passing is average at best (when he's under absolutely no pressure) and he just runs and hides behind games when the going gets tough (see last Saturday, and almost every other big game he has played in). Hargreaves is a useful squad player, but he's basically the midfield version of Saha - decent when fit, but never fit. However, even when he is fit, he's an average holding midfielder at best, and certainly not worth the 18m United paid for him.

With Scholes absent (and even when he's not absent, he's still old), United's distinct lack of quality in midfield is being ruthlessly exposed. They have the players up front and behind to make amends in most games, but when the big games come around it's very hard to see United being dominant in the middle of the park. Even though they enjoyed more possession than Arsenal last Saturday, this was in spite of, as opposed to because of, the likes of Carrick and Anderson. For all the space on the pitch, neither player ventured forward and seized the opportunity to really cut holes through a lightweight Arsenal midfield. And in the dying moments, when midfielders should be getting the ball and feeding it into the box, it was telling that Arsenal were the ones with all the possession, while Michael Carrick was nowehere to be seen.

One may argue that United where shorn of three of their central midfielders against Arsenal, which is true. However, even with a fully fit midfield, the problems do not go away. Fletcher can only offer you so much, and Scholes is on his last legs at this stage (something which Ferguson seemingly understands, having hauled him off early against both Liverpool and Chelsea). In my opinion, if you want a good midfield then you need to go foreign. Generally speaking, English players just don't seem to have the passing range nor the ability to read the game that Spanish and Italian players have. Ferguson invested heavily in two of these English players, and I think he's suffering as a consequence (Yes yes, I'm aware that United won the double last season, but I'll be damned if that wasn't because of Ronaldo's 965 goals and United's almost impregnable backline).

If by some incredibly bizarre turn of events Xavi does end up in Manchester, then United will be maybe one player short of having a seriously good team (that one player being a left midfielder of course). But while I just can't for the life of me see Xavi heading north, it should be positive news for all followers of United that they're looking for a player of Xavi's ilk, because that is exactly what they need if they're going to remain dominant in the years to come.

Paradise Lost

As even a half-hearted reader of this blog would know, Arsenal are my main topic of choice. I'm not an Arsenal supporter, nor have I ever claimed to be. To be honest the only team I'd come close to supporting is Barcelona, but that's just because 4 of their players are amongst my favourite playing the game at the moment (Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Hleb). Were these players to move on, then my interest in Barcelona football club would wain considerably.

None of this is to say that I'm not a fan of Arsenal. Ask me who I want to see win the league, and I'd say the Gunners without hesitation. However, that probably has more to do with my not liking the other 3 viable contenders than anything else. However, as I've said before, I sincerely don't think that Arsenal have a chance of winning the Premier League this season. What I haven't said is that this saddens me, and I truly mean that.

Rewind to just over a year ago. Arsenal were playing some of the best football the world had ever seen, and this is no exaggeration. "Perfect football" is what Clive Tyldesley called it on one occasion, and in some sense that is exactly what it was. Wenger had his team playing football the way it should be played, and it was a thing of beauty to behold. Many people, myself included, were enamored by this young, vibrant Arsenal side who were not only easy on the eye, but who actually won too. Even John Giles and Eamonn Dunphy (two notoriously hard to please stuck-in-the-muds) almost admitted to being supporters of Arsenal, so in love with their brand of football they became. Neutrals were powerless to resist their charms (that's Arsenal's, not Giles' or Dunphy's), and the really scary thing was that one could only see them improving.

After a slight dip in form during the Christmas period Arsenal got back on track, when all of a sudden things started unravellings at the seams. Many will cite the 2-2 draw with Birmingham as the turning point, and it's hard to argue with that. However, for me the wheels came off a week before that. Arsenal were pitted against United in a mouth-watering F.A. Cup clash, but failed to turn up. Or more accurately, decided not to turn up. A weakened Arsenal team was trounced 4-0 by the Red Devils, but it was the manner of the defeat that for me sparked the series of events that would unfold. Arsenal approached the game against Man Utd as inferiors, and in my opinion they decided not to try because at least then they would have an excuse for losing. Such a mentality is not to be found in a winning team, but Arsenal showed all the signs of fragility in their non performance in that game, and such fragility characterised many of their remaining games. In the space of something like 5 games, they went from having a chance to go 8 points in front at the top to going about 5 or 6 points behind, and that, as they say, was that.

However, amidst the doom and gloom, the signs were still there that they had the makings of something really special, provided they made a couple of astute additions over the summer. Though wrecked from a physically and emotionally draining season, they still managed to outplayed all three of their main title competitors in various games in the run in, but conspired to lose all three thanks to a combination of being completely knackered and being defensively naive. Their sublime season had nothing to show for it in the trophy cabinet, but surely some silverware was imminent. Some players to fix the defensive problems coupled with the experiences of a hard fought season would surely be enough to propel this Arsenal team to the next level, provided the hunger was still there.

The summer came and the summer went, but Arsenal's problems were only worsened if anything. They lost two of their star performers from the previous season - Hleb and Flamini - who went on to join Barcelona and Milan respectively. Flamini was seen as the bigger loss, but I would tend to disagree. Though Hleb was a woeful goalscorer and shooter in general, it was his influence that really gelled the Arsenal team together as an attacking threat. After all, scoring goals was not Arsenal's problem, therefore it didn't really matter that Hleb did not contribute directly, because he certainly contributed indirectly. His movement, his dribbling, and his passing were all of the highest quality, leading him to constantly pick holes in defenses for the likes of Adebayor and Fabregas to exploit. He was a massive contributor to Arsenal's beautiful football, and though Nasri has potential to fill the void left by him, there was and is a uniqueness to Hleb's giftings that can never really be replaced.

On the other hand, Flamini was your typical defensive midfielder, and easily replaceable in my opinion. However, Wenger decided not to replace him, and has indeed suffered the consequences for this obvious mistake. However, more than Arsenal losing two players, it seems to me from various interviews and such that Fabregas lost two friends. I know this sounds silly and girly, but I honestly think these transfers have really affected the young Spaniard. You could see from Arsenal last season that there was a real togetherness about them, and by all accounts Hleb, Flamini and Fabregas were good friends as well as teammates. To see Flamini and Hleb walk out must have been tough on Cesc, and you can honestly see that in the way he's playing this season. I'm not trying to make excuses for his poor form, but we have to be human about this and understand that such things have effects on people, especially people of such a young age. Fabregas went from having a few older people to look up to and learn from to being the oldest person in the midfield...at 21 years of age. This I find ridiculous, and if interviews are to be believed, then so does Cesc. For Wenger to put him in this position is irresponsible. It's costing Arsenal dearly at the moment, and could eventually cost him one of the most talented players to ever play the game.

To see Arsenal in this position is a real footballing tragedy given what happened last year. From being in a position of almost football perfection, they've lost to Fulham, Hull, and Stoke, and in all likelihood will suffer another crushing loss tomorrow. I don't believe that anyone at the club truly thinks that they can win the league this year, and this I feel is affecting their performances. While they've put on a few great displays, the majority have been patchy at best, if not utterly abject. the real problem is that all of this is only serving to open the door for Fabregas to move on, and when this happens, that's the end of Arsenal Football Club as we know it. What promised so much a year ago will have delivered so little. Their potential will be sold on to bigger clubs who have the resources to seriously challenge for trophies. Their "perfect football" will become a myth, a spook story that Arsenal supporters tell their disbelieving kids about at night time.

Of course one player does not make a team, and Arsenal will not go down the drain because of one loss. Viera left, Henry left, and still they have survived. However, they have yet to thrive without these two talismen, and the loss of a third can only be a massive setback, one that even a genius such as Arsene Wenger would do well to recover from.

The House That Dunphy Gambled

Eamonn Dunphy thinks that Chelsea are going to win four trophies this year, and if I know Eamonn Dunphy like I think I do, he's probably put a lot of money on said outcome, if not his house along with everything in it (although given the amount of times he's said "I'd put my house on it" in the past and been subsequently proved wrong to do so, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Eamonn Dunphy no longer had a house to put on anything - ah, the highs and lows of being a degenerate gambler).

Well, while Eamonn Dunphy's opinions on footballing matters are suspect at best -- except when it comes to La Liga, where he is known as (and I quote) "a student of the Spanish game" -- this is a sentiment that might well be shared by many, although maybe four trophies is pushing it. Still though, Chelsea appear to be everyone's favourite for everything, with Manchester United just behind. I used to agree with this, but now I'm not so sure.

This isn't necessarily backlash to their 3-1 loss to Roma last night, although natually enough that result does have a baring on my opinion. But take Chelsea's four hardest games so far this season (or at least the four hardest games one would have forcasted at the beginning of the season). For me, these games would have been the ones against Man Utd, Liverpool and Tottenham (all at home) and Roma away. Well, in those games Chelsea lost twice a drew twice (one of those draws being against a pitiful Spurs team under the not-so-magic Juande). I can confess to seeing only two of those games in full, and in both of those the flamboyant Chelsea who seem to beat most teams 5-0 looked void of ideas and penetration, eventually resorting to playing long balls up to er, well, John Terry in the end.

Don't get me wrong. I very much think Chelsea will be there or there abouts. However, they ain't all that in a bag of chips, or something. Take Frank Lampard for example. By the looks of those 5-0 victories he's been involved in, he's been phenomenal, showing poise and guile to go with his useful penchant for scoring goals. However, contrary to what Dunphy said last night, Lampard (like Gerrard) very much has a tendancy to going missing in games. Against both United and Liverpool he was largely ineffectual, offering none of the creativity that Chelsea so desperately craved. I don't say this to knock Lampard. I've been secretly impressed with some of what I've seen of him lately, but I still don't think he's capable of dominating a game when it really matters. He almost epitomises Chelsea this season - great against the weaker teams, not so great against the stronger teams.

In my opinion, Chelsea's utter dominance against the weaker teams will be enough to make them Premier Leauge Champions, although if I was to do a Dunphy and gamble my house (or at least my parent's house) on an outcome I'd go for United. However, when it comes to the trophy they seem to most covet - the Champions League - I think they will fall short. There are quite a few strong sides in Europe these days. They may not be as strong as the Premier League sides, but I think that on their day teams such as Real Madrid, Villarreal, Athletico Madrid, Inter Milan, and even Lyon can upset any one of the 'big four'. And then there is Barcelona, who are my tip to do the double (La Liga and CL). I don't make them as favourites because of their shakey defense, but they will take some beating, as they proved last season against United.

The bottom line is that if Chelsea are going to win four trophies, then they are going to have to start playing well against good opposition. Their next chance to do so comes against Arsenal on the 30th of November, although to be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if Arsenal were all but out of the title race by then. I guess this Saturday will be a good indication of that. Regardless of Arsenal's form however, it will still be a test for Chelsea's new brand of football. It's all well and good to be able to mow teams like Sunderland down, but you need to be able to transfer that kind of football to the big stage as well. Last season, Arsenal proved that this can be done, overrunning Liverpool for 45 minutes, and Man United for 60 with some of the best football of the season. If Chelsea are to be the dominant force in world football then they need to start doing the same, except doing it for longer periods of time and without being completely abject and naive at the back (which was and still is Arsenal's downfall, but I've talked about that enough in this blog already).

RVP

I've been wanting to write about the North London derby for a while now (well, two days to be precise), but I feel like most of what I have to say about has been said already on this blog. The bottom line is that nobody learned anything new about Arsenal last Wednesday. The same old problems reared their ugly head, and it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that an Arsenal team that was naive last season is even more naive this season now that they've lost three senior members (Flamini, Hleb and Gilberto) and failed to replace them. Arsenal cannot win the league this season. The Spurs result hasn't contributed to that fact as much as it has proved it.

Before I write about what I actually want to write about, I just have to say that all this talk regarding the "character" which the Spurs team showed is ridiculous. They had basically given up until Clichy's abysmal mistake, and once they got within in a goal, should it come as surprising that they tried to level things up? I don't know a team in the world who would throw in the towel if all they needed was a goal to rescue a point, so as far as I'm concerned there is absolutely no need to praise Spurs' "character". Such character should be a given, not a bonus. Also, I just looked at the Fantasy Football stats, and Bentley got 2 bonus points for the game. Granted his goal was exceptional, but it was basically the only contribution he made. Clichy was completely dominant for 89 minutes of that game, and in no way did Bentley deserve plaudits for anything else other than his 5 seconds of magic.

This brings me on to my subject of choice, which is Robin van Persie*. Adebayor actually got the 3 bonus points, but it was the graceful Dutchman who deserved them more than anyone else. He was absolutely brilliant against Spurs, assisting two goals with wonderful crosses, creating the third with a sublime pass to Nasri, and scoring the fourth with a thunderous right footed (yes, right footed) shot. And aside from being heavily involved in all four goals, his general play was assured and penetrating, with him rarely giving away the ball.

In my opinion, Robin van Persie is one of the most talented players in the world, and now thanks to a run of injury-freeness, he's proving himself to be one of the best performers in the world. He basically has everything you need to be a centre forward in the mold of Denis Bergkamp - vision, creativity, strength, skill, technique, and a deadly accurate shot. He's an incredibly unique player, in that his link up play and creativity are like that of a playmaker, but he's also a good finisher and can quite possibly notch up 20+ goals in a full season.

And then there's his set pieces. His corners are as good as I've seen, as are his crosses from dead balls. And once he's within about 30 yards of the goal, there are few players I'd rather have standing over the ball, with Cristiano Ronaldo certainly not being one of them. He strikes the ball so purely that it really is just a joy to watch him kick a piece of shaped leather.

If I was to hand out an Arsenal Player of the Year award based on this season so far, van Persie would most certainly pick it up. In 12 games he has scored 7 goals and assited 5. In this kind of form he is bound to pick up a lot of admirers, so while it's good for Arsenal that he does well, it's also bad in the sense that he may decide to leave in order to win things. Fabregas leaving Arsenal would undoubtedly be the biggest blow to the club, despite the fact that he's enjoyed an indifferent season so far. Van Persie leaving would be a close second, because players with his talent are few and far between.

* I wrote this before yesterday's game, in which van Persie came on and got himself sent off for a stupid challenge (which I don't actually think deserved a red card, but it was extremely silly nonetheless). Call it a "blogger's curse", or something.

My Winning Eleven

We all have our favourite players, and we all have our players who we think are the best. Sometimes the two overlap, sometimes they don't. What I'm going to attempt to do is to try and come up with a team that basically consists of players I like, and players that might well be the best in their respective positions. It's all subjective at the end of the day of course, so do bear that in mind as you read.

...................................................Casillas.................................................


Sagna.....................Carvalho.....................Vidic.........................Clichy


...................................................Senna...................................................

.............................Xavi..................................Iniesta..............................


.....Messi..................................................................................Kaka.......

....................................................Villa......................................................

There are players such as Rooney who I think are individually brilliant, but they just wouldn't fit into this team. There's also Alex Hleb, who's one of my favourite players, but it's just impossible to leave Kaka or Messi out. Anyone have any strong objections to this team, or perhaps a team of your own? Comment away then.

A Question For the Head of the Premier League:

Can Liverpool really win the Premier League? Really? Liverpool?

A lot of articles I've been reading over the last day have said "Yes" to this question. Liverpool are now considered "genuine title contenders", and with seemingly good reason too. They've beaten Manchester United at home (something they never do), they've beaten Chelsea away (something nobody ever does), and they've put away a decent team like Man City in the process too, although in slightly fortuitous circumstances in must be said. Still, those all sound like solid title winning credentials, and in a way, they are. Your record against the top teams is crucial these days - that's why United have won the league the past two season, and that's why Liverpool haven't won the league in the past two seasons...or in the 15 seasons before that. Improving their record against their "rivals" was a must if they were to mount a serious title assault. That said -- and I'm willing to go on record with this -- I still don't think Liverpool can or will win the league.

They were very impressive against United a month or so ago, and they were very impressive against Chelsea on Sunday. All the players put in big performances, and they all died for the cause. Granted it took an own goal against United and a deflection against Chelsea to help them on their way, but still, I think everyone would agree that they deserved their victories.

However, while such victories are crucial for any team with title aspirations, Liverpool just don't have the quality to go the distance in my opinion. They have some of the qualities - they're resilient, they work extremely hard, they have a 20+ goal striker (not Robbie Keane - the other one), and they work extremely hard...oh wait, I used that one already. My point is, they're good but they're not the one. They played out a boring nil all draw with Aston Villa, they failed to put away Stoke City, and they've been extremely lucky on several occasions up to now, and such luck is bound to run out sooner or later.

Unlike United and Chelsea, I just don't have any confidence in Liverpool winning every time they step onto the pitch. They're playing Portsmouth tomorrow, and I honestly think that there is a good chance they will drop points. So far this season, Liverpool's biggest win was a 3-1 defeat of PSV at Anfield, and their biggest Premier League win was a 2-0 victory away to a very poor Everton side. In other words, they've yet to beat any side by more than two goals. Every game is nearly a struggle for them, whereas with a lot of United and Chelsea games you're almost wondering just how many they're going to score even before kick off. Even Arsenal have that ability to sweep past a lot of teams and win games with seemingly minimal effort.

And speaking of Arsenal, I think they will prove to be a harder team for Liverpool to beat than either Chelsea or United. I can see Arsenal securing all six points against Liverpool, because Arsenal have something neither United or Chelsea have in abundance, and that is speed. Liverpool's full backs were rarely tested against the big two, but against Arsenal it will be a different story altogether.

Of course Arsenal are yet to be really tested themselves, so it's hard to know how they'll fair against their direct rivals (impending games against United and Chelsea will go far in determining that of course). Still, I can see Liverpool dropping the maximum points against them, whereas I wouldn't dream of saying the same with regards Man Utd and Chelsea. In a way, Liverpool undid their win against United by drawing with Stoke in the next game. I fear they could do the same against Portsmouth tomorrow.

One of a Kind

As some readers may know, I have a penchant for liking players who are slow, lazy, flimsy, mentally weak, but technically sublime. No player incorporates such a list of characteristics better than Juan Roman Riquelme. As another blogger pointed out, you either love him or you hate him - very rare that there is an in between. And in case you haven't guessed already, I fall into the former camp.

I first heard the name Riquelme through the medium of computer games - more specifically, through Championship Manager - the game that eats away the time of those who love football, but are too lazy to do anything about it. He was one name on a long list of 'must-buys' from South America which cropped up in each incarnation, up there with the likes of Saviola, Klimowicz, Aimar, Palermo and Diego.

However, it wasn't until quite a few years later that I got to see him play in the flesh. I had heard about his good form for Villarreal (he had won an award for 'Most Creative Player' in a league that consisted of Zidane and Ronaldinho), so I was excited to see him pitted against the 'golden generation' of English football, which might I add is one of the biggest myths to have surfaced throughout my life time.

Anyway, I watched the game with intrigue, and Riquelme most certainly didn't disappoint. He put on one of the best displays I've ever seen from a player, with grace and finesse just emenating from every touch of the ball he took. Ledley King remarked after the game that he couldn't get near Riquelme, despite the fact that Juan Roman has the pace of, well, something very very slow.

If you didn't see the game, then watch the highlights of Riquelme's performance here (there's a couple of clips before you get to the England game), and just remember that this is only a snippet of what actually happened that day. Yes it was a friendly by name, but it certainly wasn't a friendly by nature, which is hardly surprising given the two teams in question. However, in a hotly contested affair, Riquelme played the game at his own pace, dictating everything from wherever he decided to roam. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, and I fell immediately in love with this "lazy genius".

There were highs and lows in the career of Riquelme after this game - the highest high being taking his team to the Champions League semi-final with series of stunning performances, none moreso than against Inter Milan in the quarter final; the lowest low being that famous 'spaghetti western' style missed penalty against Arsenal.

Then came the World Cup. Many argue that he was disappointing, but I would say that many are wrong. He set up both goals against the Ivory Coast, he ran the show against Serbia in what was the team performance of the tournament, admittedly he was below par against Mexico yet he still created two very good chances, and against Germany he assisted the goal, with his substitution being cited as a major factor for Argentina's demise. That's not a disappointing World Cup, is it? Not in my books anyway.

Fast forward to today. Having resorted to playing club football in his home country, I very rarely get to see him play anymore, but I did get to see him tog out for Argentina last weekend, and on a bobbly pitch he put in a first half performance that made me fall in love with him all over again. He set up Messi's goal wonderfully, and barely once did he give the ball away.

With Riquelme, it's the little things that matter. You can look at his videos on Youtube, but they never tell the full story. There are little flicks and shimmys and passes that escape the highlights reel, but are as sublime as they are subtle. Tim Vickery is certainly right - he is one of a dying breed. There are few playing the game today who have the mental capacity, awareness, and execution skills of Juan Roman, which is a great shame.

There is hope on the horizon however. Extinction may be prevented. For amidst the wave of immense physical specimens such as Drogba and Ronaldo, emerged a team of midgets in the form of the Spanish national side. They proved and continue to prove that cunning and guile go a long way in the world of football. They proved that the game is indeed beautiful, and lets hope that many follow in their footsteps.

Barca and Torres

The best central midfielder in the world today?

There is just so much to write about concerning the beautiful game this weekend that I'm not sure what to focus on - the Pro Evo 2009 demo? Arsenal dropping more points against inferior opponents? Tottenham being genuine relegation candidates? So much to choose from, so little time to write about it all.

I'll pick out the two things that struck me the most, starting with Barcelona v Athetico last night. In case you don't know, Barca won that game 6-1, going 3-0 up after 8 minutes. In a word, they were phenomenal. The quartet consisting of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Eto'o was just breathtaking at times. Each of them had moments that would adorn the most silky of games.

Xavi bringing the ball down with his foot (which was almost at head height), knocking it by a player, and then playing Henry though on goal. Iniesta cutting inside and curling a stunning shot off the post, Messi dribbling by 3 players and chipping the ball over Coupet, only to see his shot go just wide, and Eto'o chesting a ball down, dummying both the defender and goalkeeper, and slotting it home for his second of the night.

Rarely have I seen a team out-play another team like this. I mean we're talking Argentina v Serbia here. If Barca really wanted to, they could have scored 10. It was the kind of performance they threaten against most teams but never actually deliver. The kind of performance that should see them installed as favourites for La Liga (if they weren't aready), and genuine contenders for the Champions League (their defense is too abysmal to make them favourites). Their attacking options are unrivaled by any club in the world. In Xavi, they possess arguably the best central midfield player in the world today (can anyone name someone better?), in Messi and Iniesta they possess the best duo of wingers, and between Eto'o and Henry they possess enough firepower to cause most defenses problems (though I would still have a few question marks over Eto'o and his penchant for wastefulness).

Athletico were horrible, make no mistake about that. But Barcelona played some exquisite football nonetheless. It was a masterclass of footballing beauty you might say.

The other thing I want to talk about is Torres. And more specifically, me not liking him that much. I have nothing against him personally of course. I just don't see what everyone else sees in him.

I mean Benitez came out today and basically said he's the best player in the world. After 2 goals today to bring Liverpool back to 2-2 against City you might be inclined to think Rafa is on to something, but don't let those goals fool you. Torres was woeful in the first half, and not much better in the second. Can a player score 2 goals and still be bad? I think so.

I just don't get very excited when Torres plays. For me, he loses the ball too often, and there's nothing I hate more in a player than an inclination to surrender possession cheaply. You can score all the goals you want, but if you keep giving the ball away when you're not putting it in the back of the net, I won't like you very much. This is just my personal opinion. I know it's not shared by many, but I wanted to make it known.

Watching a player like Xavi, or Iniesta, or Fabregas gives me much greater pleasure than watching someone who scores goals, but doesn't do a whole lot else. Torres is a good player, no question. I just don't think he's as good as people make him out to be. From what I saw of Spain this summer, David Villa was actually the more complete striker of the two. But, you know - since Torres plays in the Premier League, he must be better. I mean, look at how much Deco has improved since he came to England [???].

Regardless of my personal feelings for Torres' game, he must be applauded for his sublime instincts inside the box, and for getting Liverpool out of jail against City today. That was a vital win - not just for the 3 points, but also as a show of character, and a warning to the other teams that they are title contenders this year. This season is shaping up to be better than last, and if Arsenal don't buck up they could find themselves out of the race by Christmas. You heard it here first.

Football Weekly

For the past 7 months or so, I've been listening to a football podcast called Football Weekly, which can be found at the Guardian's website. To make this brief, it's the best thing you can listen to that's about football, at least in my opinion anyway. My weekend football experience isn't complete until I've heard the witty one-liners of James Richardson, or the cynical rants of Barry Glendenning. And then there's Sid Lowe in Spain, who writes an excellent weekly column about La Liga for the Guardian website, and keeps listeners up to date via the telephone on Football Weekly.

Overall, I can't recommend this show enough to any football fans out there. Listen to the latest podcast here, and I guarantee your enjoyment. This might just be the best one I've heard so far, so they're not all up to this standard. But if you're looking for a place where wit meets intelligent football conversation, look no further than Football Weekly. Trust me. Click on the link a couple of sentences up and prepare for your football experience to be enhanced significantly.