West Ham United are expected to name the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss Avram Grant as their new manager later this week.
The 55-year-old Israeli left crisis-club Pompey less than a fortnight ago and is believed to be at the top of joint chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold's wish-list.
The Hammers parted company with Gianfranco Zola last month after he had guided them away from the Premier League's relegation zone.
Gold was quoted as saying:"After an hour, we knew we could work with this manager. We are very optimistic.
"I think it's time for the football club to get some stability with people that have been there, done that and got the T-shirt.
"The bottom line is the relationship between the manager and the chairman is critical. In our case it's two chairmen so it's even more difficult as you need to have a relationship between three people.
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"We want to put together a team that was better than last year. We were very fortunate. Normally 35 points gets you relegated.
"What we need is a manager who has achieved, has experience. We are not in a position where we can take on young, inexperienced managers."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Barcelona legend (and current manager), Pep Guardiola, became an anachronism at the young age of 33. His passing skills were unmatched, his physical condition was as good as ever, and he had already achieved unfathomable success under Johan Cruyff in the Dream Team of the 1990s. So what happened?
“I became a regular at Barcelona aged 20 because I had a manager, Johan Cruyff, who played a certain way and who believed in me and because football was different back then. If I were a 20 year old at Barcelona today, I would never make it as a professional. At best I’d be playing in the third division somewhere.”
Europe’s obsession with tough tacklers and playmakers facilitated Guardiola’s diminished importance to the game; the tandem utilisation of destroyer-creator partners such as Davids-Zidane and Keane-Scholes were the tactical imperative for many sides. The need to deploy these partnerships was borne out of a need for balance (Arrigo Sacchi was at pains to state his qualms whilst at Real Madrid, ‘It’s become all about specialists. Is football a collective and harmonious game? Or is it a question of putting X amount of talented players in and balancing them with Y amount of specialists?’) i.e. Makelele’s importance as a ball winner who would shield the back four grew only because players like Zidane and Figo had no intention of tracking back. How does this concern Guardiola? Well, at just 33 – only 6 years ago – he wondered if an emerging talent with all of his technical and positional proclivities could even have a future at Barcelona. When he said those words Xavi was just 24 and Andres Iniesta was just 20; both were ever presents in the 2004-2005 title winning campaign.
Guardiola’s sentiments are now being applied in many quarters to the traditional number 10, especially in Italy. Where has all the creativity gone? The re-emergence of the deep lying playmaker – the Guardiola – has been facilitated by the shift away from 4-4-2 in the early 2000s. Dropping a forward for an extra man in midfield has led to the natural need for a linking distributor. The tandem characteristics of destroyer-creators have now been supplemented by a ‘link man’ between the two; destroyer-passer-creator (Mascherano-Alonso-Gerrard in 2008/2009, Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta at Barcelona, Gago-Alonso-Kaka at Real Madrid, Mascherano-Veron-Messi for Argentina, Busquets-Alonso-Xavi for Spain, and De Jong-Van Bommel-Sneijder for Holland). The tactical shift has simultaneously reduced the desire for a traditional number 10 and Italy, a country renowned for its ability to churn out players in that position, seems to be suffering from a noticeable dearth.
Players like Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero are in the twilight of their careers. But even a fleeting glance at the contemporary game sees an absence of their types. Why? The widespread use of two deep midfielders means that a central playmaker will inevitably be marked out of a game and have much less space to manoeuvre in. This is also why inverted forwards/wingers have become more fashionable: the increased options lead to more variation in attack e.g. cutting inside from wide positions, the ability to switch wings, and interchanging in a fluid forward line. And the arguments against a regista – the old school ‘director of play’ types – become far more damaging in today’s game. The same debate has raged since Rivera to Baggio to Totti regarding the tactical deficiencies incurred by fielding a regista. The argument against him is simple: typically he is slight, weak in the tackle, and does not cover nearly as much ground as he should.
But this is the argument against the old school regista. As with everything to do with football, roles evolve and react to varying influences and it is clear that the central playmaker does exist but his responsibility to the team has markedly increased – there is much less flagrant disregard to defensive duties now because the best teams are frighteningly efficient. Taking a look at Inter Milan’s system last year we see the contemporary playmaker represented by Wesley Sneijder; his role is at once a throwback to the Baggio/Totti central director role but it is also highly systematised and conforms to the rigours of modern tactical imperatives. Sneijder has managed to marry instances of nostalgic charm and outrageous vision with positional sense and defensive responsibilities to his team. There are moments of magic (just how many miraculous through balls did Sneijder manager at Stamford Bridge this year before one was converted?) yet he is willing to cover ground for his teammates and hustle for the ball.
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Just as Guardiola had thought the evolution of football – its tactics, tempo and ideologies – had morphed into a sphere where everything he epitomised had become obsolete, two young players who were slight of build, not particularly quick nor strong had established themselves as regulars at Barcelona. Whilst I think there is a definite dearth in the Italian number 10 position, what cannot be ignored is that the role has evolved along with the tactics that almost supplanted it.
Paul Ince offered his opinion on the England problem earlier this week. His valid point suggested that the lack of young English players was the problem, but foreign managers were the cause. He believes that foreign managers pack their academies with youngsters from the continent so that the local players don’t get a look in.
Unfortunately, this problem is not easily solved. There are English managers a-plenty in the football league, but with the Premier League so far removed now from the rest of the lower leagues, chairman are reluctant to take a punt on young English coaching talent. With immediate success needed, up and coming managers aren’t given enough time to adapt to the changes that a move to the big time would include. Paul Ince himself is a fine example of this, successful at Macclesfield and MK Dons, he lasted less than 6 months at Blackburn. As a result, English managers end up doing the tour of Football league clubs without ever getting a chance to test themselves at the highest level. Unfortunately, as a fan, I am aware that I am a part of the problem. Would I rather see my team managed by a foreign coach with a successful track record abroad, or an Englishman who has just won League One?
Harry Redknapp though seems aware of his role not only as the manager of Tottenham, but also as a contributor to the future of the England team. England took 5 Tottenham players to the World Cup, more than any other side. But the work that he has done for Spurs and the future of the English game behind the scenes is of just as much importance. With the additions of ex-pros Les Ferdinand and Tim Sherwood to the coaching staff Redknapp has replicated the English spine from his playing squad into his backroom team. While at Spurs they can learn different coaching roles and earn their badges without the pressure of being thrown into management immediately. Ally McCoist at Rangers is a good example of how a former player can learn the ropes at a top club and go on to become the natural successor to take over.
So after a meeting with the FA it was decided that Fabio needs an English assistant to work with him in the England team while Stuart Pearce retains his role as U21 boss. They’re hardly spoilt for choice. With media jobs offering attractive jobs to ex-professionals fewer and fewer are opting to take on coaching roles when they retire. So managers like Redknapp who are willing to take retired players under their wing at the big clubs seems like the only way that they will become tomorrows Premier League or England managers.
Written By Karl Sears
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
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They say in life that you can go off people really quickly and that has certainly been the case for me with Xavi Hernandez.
The Spanish player is someone I have admired from afar for some time now and is arguably the best ball player in the world at the moment in time. The problem is that you sense he probably knows it as well and the arrogant Spaniard clearly believes he has every right to speak out and enforce his views on everyone; no matter who it upsets in the process. Nobody has tried to unsettle Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal more than him and his latest outburst today has done little to repair relations. Unfortunately he doesn’t share the same class as his manager Pep Guardiola who defended Arsenal’s decision to retain Cesc and decided to leave a parting shot instead:
Xavi said: “We’ve given up on the idea of him arriving now, but maybe he’ll come in January when Arsenal are out of the Premier League title race.
“Their team is just not competitive.” (Sun)
I doubt there is a player in world football that is more hated around the Emirates than the Barcelona playmaker at present. The sheer lack of respect and regard for our football club is a disgrace and it’s such a shame that the games governing bodies continue to turn a blind eye to the antics of the Barcelona players this summer. While Xavi is obviously upset that Cesc has remained at the Emirates, at the same time he should realise that he isn’t doing his friend any favours by continuing to talk about the situation, especially as Fabregas has to face the Arsenal supporters week in, week out. Xavi clearly has no shame and he has certainly gone down in my estimation this summer and I for one would welcome Barcelona in the Champions League on again, just for the opportunity to let him know what I think of him and his loosely lipped teammates.
Written By Billy Pearson
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David Gold and David Sullivan have never been ones to shun the limelight. During their time as owners of Birmingham City the duo enjoyed a turbulent relationship with fans, as the club yo-yoed between leagues. After leaving Birmingham Gold and Sullivan took over West Ham United and immediately voiced their opinions on the club and players. Throughout the summer there has almost been a constant stream of rhetoric with regard to recruiting players, and often it is Gold or Sullivan doing the talking instead of manager Avram Grant. As the clubs owners the pair have the right to do what they want within their club, but they might be advised to take more of a back seat in the future and let the manager do the talking. Fans, players and the manager can get frustrated by their frequent opinion giving which could lead to discontent at Upton Park.
As soon as Gold and Sullivan took over West Ham United, they began voicing their outspoken opinions on what the club was doing wrong. After first giving assurances that Gianfranco Zola’s job was safe, it quickly became apparent that the Italian was a dead man walking. Following a 1-3 home defeat in March by then relegation rivals Wolves, David Sullivan launched a furious verbal attack on the manager and the players.
In an open letter to fans published on the club’s website, Sullivan stated “Nobody at the club should delude themselves that we are a good team. The table does not lie.”
Sullivan and Gold’s criticism of the team continued, and provoked a public rebuke from Luis Boa Morte who told BBC Sport “Mr Sullivan should have a bit more composure when he talks to the press to hammer the players. It’s not helping anyone. The fact that you have money doesn’t mean you can say do whatever you want.”
The problem with such criticism from the owners is that it can evoke a backlash from players, the manager and the fans. If it had not been so obvious that Zola would not be at West Ham for the next season, more players may have signalled their displeasure at the owners’ remarks.
With a new manager at the club, Gold and Sullivan have now turned their attention to speculating publicly over transfer targets. During the summer David Gold spoke of his desire to bring David Beckham and Juan Roman Riquelme to Upton Park. However it has emerged that Beckham has had no contact with West Ham and intends to continue playing for LA Galaxy this season. Juan Roman Riquelme meanwhile, has recently signed a contract with Argentine side Boca Juniors. With much of Gold and Sullivan’s speculation turning out to be just that, the better option may be for them to hold their tongues and let the manager get on with the job in hand. A player transfer should be solely the manager’s choice, and Avram Grant would be better left alone to make deals in the summer market and go about signing players the way he wants to. David Gold and David Sullivan have the right to voice their opinions, there is no question over that, but they might just experience greater success during their time at West Ham if they are just that little bit more publicity shy.
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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
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Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov could be out for six weeks after scans showed his ankle injury is worse than was initially feared.
The left-back damaged ankle ligaments in Saturday's goalless draw against Tottenham and could be sidelined until October.
Meanwhile, boss Roberto Mancini does not expect Thursday's Europa League clash against Romanian side FC Timisoara to be easy.
He said:"It is a difficult draw because everyone expects us to progress but we have watched Timisoara and they are a hard-working side who will see us a great possible scalp.
"You have to be patient and remember that there are two games in this tie.
"I always think that the first game in any European competition is the hardest and we are still in the very early stages of my players becoming a team. Timisoara have already played four league games and two in the Europa Cup.
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"I have plenty of options for the game but, at this stage of the season, I want to give as much chance as possible to new players to settle into the team and learn about each other so we can grow as a group. It is a balance between that and making sure that certain players do not become overused or tired.
"It is an important game because we want to progress in every competition and there is no room to play less than 100 per cent. The main thing is to ensure that the score after the second game at the City of Manchester Stadium is in our favour."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson praised the natural goalscoring ability of Javier Hernandez after his late goal secured a 1-0 Champions League victory over Valencia.
The Mexican substitute broke the deadlock with just five minutes remaining with a low drive after a dull game had seemed certain to end goalless.
It was a superb result for Ferguson's team as they had been victorious on just one of their previous 18 trips to Spain.
Hernandez arrived at Old Trafford in a £7million deal from Chivas before the World Cup finals.
"The way he took his chance, it was like shelling peas. It was so natural to him," said Ferguson.
"He has work to do on his physique but you cannot take away from the fact that he is a fantastic finisher."
United are now level on four points with Rangers at the top of the Group C table and Ferguson was content with their evening's work at the Mestalla against in-form domestic hosts.
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"It's a great result for us. It's not easy coming here," he added.
"Rangers also won tonight and have got Valencia in a double header next, so it's important we kick on now."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
I don’t condone breaking legs. In fact, I don’t know many people who do condone the breaking of legs, aside from maybe debt collectors in Hollywood films or perhaps your average Bond villain. Even though it was 007’s fingers that Mr. Big broke, it still doesn’t change anything. I, and most other people on the planet, don’t condone it. I’m a Manchester City fan, most of my articles are about Manchester City and I’ve just started this one about broken legs… I think you can see where this one’s going.
Now, I didn’t see the Nigel de Jong tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa live. I should have seen it live because I had arrived at the game in good time, but thanks to a mix-up involving the people I go with and our tickets, I didn’t get in until ten minutes into the game. And, as I took my seat, the people around me informed me of what I had missed (which, in the context of this game was absolutely nothing apart from the injury to Ben Arfa).
And not a lot was made of it by them, yet it happened right in front of them. None of them saw a foul, though all of them saw the stretcher and all of them saw the oxygen. The referee didn’t see a foul. Neither did the linesman nor the Newcastle players nor even Kevin Keegan, Nicky Butt, Lee Dixon or Alan Hansen, who were all pundits covering the game that day.
Having seen numerous replays of the challenge and read thousands of column inches dedicated to crucifying de Jong (and, to be fair, several – not quite as many – column inches dedicated to defending the Dutch midfielder), I’m beginning to wonder where the calls for an extended punishment have come from. De Jong has been vilified on the Dutch version of Match of the Day or Football First and has even been dropped from the national team – why? For being anti-football and a vicious thug.
But that’s all too easy to say. And wrong, obviously.
We’ll start with the anti-football accusation. I don’t believe there is such thing as anti-football to begin with. It is something that I have seen numerous times said by teams who enjoy playing quick passing football (Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea… Now, in all fairness, City) when they have lost or drawn against a side that is working on a much stricter budget and has set their tactics accordingly. Stoke utilise a long throw-in; it’s anti-football. Blackburn play a long ball from Robinson frequently; it’s anti-football.
It’s not. Anti-football is, in my opinion at least, a snobbish phrase coined by fans of clubs who have been bettered by a team they should, on paper, have beaten. Everybody plays to their strengths – if your team has a long throw-in or a goalkeeper with such a big kick, then use it. I wouldn’t expect Stoke to ignore their long throw-in abilities when it can be so effective. There are no rules being broken.
Now then, back to Nigel de Jong. He doesn’t score many goals, granted, but that’s not his strength. In fact, he’s never scored at all for City – and if you’ve ever seen his shooting that won’t surprise you. I mentioned recently that you wouldn’t want de Jong to be on the end of a loose ball eight yards out from goal and it’s true; the last time that happened he passed it back to Mark Schwarzer in the Fulham goal when most players would have blasted it into the net.
Continued on Page TWO
However, because a player doesn’t score many doesn’t make him part of this anti-football concept. Tackling and defending is just as much a part of football as shooting and scoring. That City have had one of the most frugal defences in the country this season tells you all you need to know about how well de Jong, Kompany, Touré et al have played. With few exceptions, anything that de Jong hasn’t stopped has been stopped by the four defenders. And anything they haven’t stopped has come up against perhaps the best goalkeeper in England.
A house isn’t built on sand for the same reason a football team doesn’t focus solely on attack. The foundations have to be right for anything to be a success; City’s ability to concede very few goals (which is unlike them, I do admit, but it’s a refreshing change) will see them in good stead when the goals dry up. And de Jong is an important part of that defence, allowing the rest of the midfield to play further forward. It’s a popular misconception that a midfield containing de Jong, Barry and Yaya Touré is one of three defensive players. Barry and Touré push forwards as well.
The challenge that broke Ben Arfa’s leg was tough, but fair; no different to a large proportion of challenges that are made in every division in every league in every country in every round of fixtures. It’s very, very unfortunate that the Newcastle player was so badly injured in the challenge and I, along with all other football fans, wish him a speedy recovery, but it was nothing more than an unlucky and freakish accident.
De Jong has previous form, however, so that must make him a thug. He broke Stuart Holden’s leg whilst on international duty with the Netherlands. Quite famously, in the previous World Cup final, he karate kicked Xabi Alonso in the chest – and should have been sent off for it. The irony there, though, is that the entire Dutch team were doing their best to foul the Spanish at every given opportunity and the manager that had instructed his players to adopt these tactics – tactics they hadn’t used throughout the rest of the tournament, mind – has now taken the moral high ground in dropping one of his own players for a fair tackle. In 20 months with City, this is the first time a tough de Jong tackle has caused an injury and he hasn’t changed his style of play since he arrived.
For there to be calls for de Jong to be suspended for as long as Ben Arfa is injured is insanely ludicrous. The severity of the foul is the only criteria on which a punishment should be decided, whether that is at the time by the referee or afterwards by a video panel. Never should the severity of an injury be taken into consideration in deciding a punishment; freak injuries can happen in the most innocuous of challenges or fouls.
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After the match, the Newcastle manager Chris Hughton described the tackle as ‘unnecessary’. I understand his disappointment with his player’s long term injury, but a tackle can’t be unnecessary if an opposing playing is in possession of the ball and running towards your goal. There were covering players, but it’s de Jong’s job to make sure the defence aren’t troubled as often as they could be. I wouldn’t have expected a Newcastle midfielder to have not made that challenge should it have been the other way around.
De Jong does a vital job for City. He is strong and willing to put his body on the line, but he isn’t reckless. His challenge on Ben Arfa is no different to any other he’s made whilst with City and this is the first bad injury that has resulted from one them. He’s never been red carded for City, either.
This sudden character assassination is unjust. There are plenty of players who have made and who will make similar challenges to that which injured Ben Arfa, yet, because the freak accident didn’t occur, there will be no more words said. Many more players will be injured in fair tackles, seriously or not, in the future. But that doesn’t mean the player responsible for the injury is a vile monster.
Prior to West Ham’s narrow defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday, The Sun ran an article entitled ‘Av: I can be West Ham’s Wenger’. Now, before I get started, I do want to emphasise that nowhere in said article is Grant actually quoted as saying this. Through some intuitive and headline-grabbing journalism, it could be implied that this is what Grant meant, but there is not a direct quote anywhere in the piece that says as much.
Here is what Avram Grant actually said;
“I speak with Arsene all the time, I’ve known him for more than 10 years and we have a good relationship… We more or less share the same idea. And most of his ideas we want to do… He has built a team through the academy into a top team, this would also be the vision at West Ham… When I came to English football, they gave me 10 days. They say I’m going because with me the team would go down but when you want to build something it takes time… I spoke with Arsene Wenger about this and I don’t know a lot about his first year at Arsenal but it was not so easy…They won the Double and then the league without defeat but when things didn’t go well, like a year ago, he stuck to his way and this is the only way to get results.”
He also went on to note that;
“Every club is a little bit different and I think we need a long-term programme…Wenger and Alex Ferguson are good examples of this. Imagine they didn’t let them continue after the first year, the whole history of the clubs are different…It won’t come in one day and you can’t push a button and everything comes good.”
What could be surmised from this is that Avram Grant is a man with a complex. He clearly feels that he needs to be given a chance to instil some of his own footballing virtues into a team, and that team, he feels, is West Ham. It can be argued that Grant inherited both success at Chelsea and relegation at Portsmouth and the 55 year-old Israeli sees the east London outfit as a blank canvas on which to initiate a long-term plan of his own to bring success to Upton Park. The problem is, West Ham aren’t a blank canvas.
The truth is that no football team are, there are always going to be in-built expectations, and the Hammers are no exception. Being firmly rooted to the foot of the table approaching Christmas is not good enough for a club who have spent only two seasons out of the top flight since 1993 and the longer you don’t live up to the club’s expectations, the shorter your life-span as manager is going to be.
With West Ham, Grant has also inherited a team which, after accumulating only 35 points last season, in any other campaign would have been relegated, and a club which, arguably, hasn’t been in the right place psychologically since the Carlos Tevez affair. So the Hammers are anything but blank, even if Grant assumes otherwise.
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Grant’s allusions to Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson may seem like delusions of grandeur from the West Ham boss, but I believe Grant has merely made a grandiose comparative statement to draw attention to his cause. It is highly unlikely that, like Wenger, Grant will win the double with West Ham next season, or, like Ferguson, Grant will propel West Ham to the forefront of world football if given two decades to work his magic. What he is saying, however, is; give me time and I will bring relative success to the football club. A fair point in itself, and one, considering his adherence to the club’s youth academy in his statement, will resonate nicely with West Ham fans. But given the current predicament the club find themselves in, it sounds more like the final rallying cry of a doomed man rather than a serious glance towards the future.
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West Bromwich Albion midfielder Graham Dorrans has denied suggestions that a possible summer move to West Ham has caused him to start the new season below his best.
The 23-year-old Scotland international has yet to find the net this term, but insists that that is not a result of a potential summer departure.
He told the Express & Star:"West Ham was never a problem. I always set my stall out to come back here and start the season.
"I signed my new contract and I am happy here, but I know I've not been at my best.
"I've missed a few games, other players have come in and done really well and the team have got good results when they have been in.
"It has been tough to get back into the side, but I'll have to work hard in training and take my chances when they come along.
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"I can't really put my finger on the reasons for it. I just need to get back to the form I was in last season."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email