Arsene Wenger will reign very soon

In our last look at the English Premier League, we looked at the blind faith of the Manchester United fans that they are already champions. Three matches on, they amassed 9 out of 9 points, scoring 10 goals in the process. Maybe they have a case.

Chelsea fans, like those elsewhere in AC Milan, F.C Porto and Real Madrid, know when it is time to celebrate when Jose Mourinho is in the house. So the Red Devils can really be forgiven to celebrate this early.

My take is this; All the teams and coaches always revered and feared a JM coached. They feel intimated and inferior. The Man U performance thus far makes all their opponents afraid, and very afraid. This makes United's job half complete.

There is a Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rushford factor. Martial is an evergreen thread and De Gea is solid. If one tries to look at the possible loopholes in that team, it may take you a season to find one. Team spirit and teamwork are matched by a complete and satisfying work ethic from everyone. I feel Ibrahimovic will come in to give more stability to the coach's attacking options.

We predicted a good performance from Arsenal and then a revolt from the Gunners fans. However, we did not anticipate these events to be so close to each other and to come so soon. Arsene Wenger did not convince many in that English Premier League season opener against Leicester City. 

The match was easy on the eye by devoid of tactical maturity and class. We were skeptical in joining the celebration party after that match. The latest demolition job by Liverpool proved us right in saying that Arsenal has very good players but the worst ever team in the league.

The players' body language was the easiest book to read. Wenger can not do anything positive to that team at all. High profile players like Mezuit Ozil looked mentally broken. The rest were extremely fragile. Alexis Sanchez, who wanted out did not look the part. Actually, Arsenal should have let him go.

No one can question Arsene's football brain and his stubbornness, but we still believe in miracles and that the man still has a little pride, no matter how small. If we are right, the man will resign next week. And in that case, a strong coach with a high reputation will come and transform dressing room mentality and attitude and maximise that team's potential.

Let assume we are wrong and the Frenchman stays on, what then can save the Gunners? Simple. Sell the entire squad and get young, cheap, naive and easy to manipulate professional who can 'yes Sir' Wenger. Otherwise, Arsenal will be in the relegation battle for the majority of the season.

This story has a flip side. A disappointing Liverpool pulled out a shocker in walloping a hapless Arsenal and suddenly, Jurgen Klopp seems to be the man. Our prediction was that the Reds are a spent force who did not need Coutinho now. 

With Barcelona throwing cash like confetti at Liverpool, the Merseyside giants should gladly cash in and bank the money. There is not much need to get into the market for them now. Their followers think there is a need for a centre back and central anchoring midfielder. We have not analysised or seem possible candidates for that matter, so it is a question of the German's taste and so far, we are failing to enter his taste buds.

May we temporarily apologise our questioning of the longevity of his gengen pressing in this season. There is a temptation to say Arsenal were naive in any case, but giving credit where it is due, many duels were won in high pressing areas leading to the goals. 

If we take a microscopic look, we would say it is early days. The good thing is that the Sedio Mane instincts look intact as this moment and all hope that his injuries will be minimum. Daniel Sturridge needs to be mentioned as he did what he usually does when he comes in from the bench. And again, he needs a much more injury free season than anyone in the world's five top leagues.

As one of the greatest symphasisers of Tottenham Hotspur, there was not a single attempt to give an excuse for the use of Wembley Stadium. Maybe we should have. White Hart Lane always presented a thread even before the match started. At the current rate, as opposed to the intimidation of the current Manchester United bullishness, Spurs are vulnerable to every Jack and Jill. All teams feel they have a chance against them at Wembley. 

Mauricio Poccetthino's boys will be feeling tired soon if the results do not come early enough. We mentioned one serious factor for them on day one. As long as Harry Kane is not finding the net, his frustration will work against the team and his confidence. Delle Ali also needs to have his game a notch up when Kane is firing blanks.

There is no doubt that in Moussa Dembele and Victor Wanyama, they have one of the strongest central midfielders in the world today, but without the crazy scampering on the wings of Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, the load will remain against them after the completion of each swing attack.

Let us see what Manchester City brought to the table so far. I see a better team than last season, but definitely, nothing to make us think they are better than Chelsea and United. Even with their target, Alexis Sanchez, it would be hard to see how the set-up could influence the title in their favour. 

Rumour has it that they intended offloading Jesus Navas and a few other players to the Gunners for the South American. Theoretically, the possible combination with Sergio Aguero should be hair-raising but Pep Guardiola can mess up a good stew and turn it into biter medicine at the click of a finger. City is a team that has already hit the ceiling. They may reinvent themselves and get rejuvenated but there is not much excitement in that squad.

Finally, as Chelsea strolled through the park, they picked up easy points. Could it be that all teams will jst bend over for a spanking? Maybe there is so much respect for Antonio Conte, but that easy win versus Everton worked for and against them. The good thing was that they picked up points without hitting top gear, basically on a rest day.

The negative aspect of that situation is a loss of top match fitness. Managing that situation going forward will be critical as to how long The Blues catch up the rest of the league in match fitness. At the beginning of the season, one prefers being stretched to the limit and prevail, and that momentum carries you in buoyant and quiet times in the season. 

We are tempted to make more predictions based on tactical analysis of what transpired so far. Indicators prove that our first article on the matter was over 80 % correct up to Match 3. The league may still welcome few great names of the game from other major leagues, and that may change a lot, but frankly, we see no major changes.

Paul Pogba, Marcus Rushford, Martial, Mane, Cesc Fabregas, Ali, Kane, Aguero will determine the destination of the league. 

At the bottom, new boys will kiss the league goodbye.

The best football Manager in the world

A few decades ago, Nottingham Forest F.C. in the English Football League, then known as the Super League, yo-yo-ed between the top tier football and the First Division under Brian Clough. We all admired the art of his pottery skills to destroy a club and make it again. The same still happens in South Africa with Jomo Sono's Jomo Cosmos F.C. The motivation of both was different.

When one has top notch players, a massive budget top state of the art facilities at their disposal, the task of winning the championship or trophies is so much easier. There cannot be a better scenario to achieve much.

However, with below average players and a 'get by' budget, it is the ultimate task to save a team from relegation. Starting with low wages and stinking attitude of these players, man-management skills get challenged to the maximum and asking for a performance is like squeezing water from a stone.

 Most celebrated managers, Zinedine Zidane, Luiz Enrique, Pep Guardiola, Arsene Wenger, Antonio Conte, Carlo Ancelotti, just to name a few, have more than they need at their disposal and (will) hop from one bed of roses to the next. Then, at the other end of the line, there is that endless list of managers scrounging for finances and results, yet they are not recognised.

The 'top managers' success are seasonal, depending on who got the best players and who got a better wage bill for their top earners. With this in mind, there has been a list of perennial saviors in the English Premier League, among them, Tony Pulis and Harry Redknapp, but the ultimate and supreme manager of all time, is Sam Allardyce.

The Big Sam has done everything from pulling a team from the Championship to saving teams from sinking. 

Is there any manager elsewhere with a better record.

Did Pep Guardiola have anything to do with Germany’s World Cup triumph?

To confuse you further in the debate of the success of Germany in the 2014 Fifa World Cup, I throw doubts in your beliefs about the greatness of one Pep Guardiola. Sunday Oliseh even says that Tiki Taka is alive and sound., a point I greatly dispute. Few claim Die Mannshcaft went through the back door to have Beyern Munich hire Guardiola so he can coach the nine players in their squad to play the Barcelona way.  The theory is noble given that 2010 Fifa World Cup champions, Spain had Pep’s nine players from Barcelona. To the preachers of that gospel, that is not coincidence.

I will take you to the days before the Backlays English Premier League. Nottingham Forest was coached by Brian Clough. Many dubbed him useless as a coach and manager. His team ran on a shoestring budget. He relegated and promoted that team perpetually for over half a decade. He built a team and destroyed it. Built it up and destroyed over and over.

Pepe inherited a Frank Rikjaard Barcelona that was already playing a philosophy set up by Johan Cryuff of Holland. Cryuff introduced the system earlier, the Dutch football that Ruud Gullit tried to employ at Chelsea when he prescribed it as ‘sexy football’. Guardiola did a great job in maintaining a legacy that had lived and will live for many years longer. Those players had been doing the same thing, with a few more foreign contingent than they did with Pep. Rikjaard and Guardiola both played for Barcelona previously.

The former Barca captain took over treble winning Jupp Henynckes Bayern Munich side. The later coached a team left by both Andreas Jonker and Loius van Gaal. The influence of Pep was visible in many Munich matches, and some Germany matches. Prior to Guardiola’s arrival, Bayern dismembered the Spanish giants in the UEFA Champions League, proving their superiority and fluidity. How easy it is to say he brought a wholesome change to the squad and to Germany national as a whole. Both these clubs, Barca and Munich, had funds to buy anyone they wanted, anyone who played the way they loved.

Without much need to compare Jose Mourinho, who won the Portuguese championship and UEFA Champions League with little known Porto, Brian Clough who yo-yoed Nottingham Forest, Harry Redknapp who saved Tottenham Hotspur from relegation and took them to UEFA Champions League pinnacle in a couple seasons, one has to look at the margins of success and the resources. Keeping firm on what is there is a lot easier than building anything from the ground.

As for Germany playing Tiki Taka football, I am not yet converted. The Chileans put to death Spain. If Spain come back anytime soon, it could be a different story, but to say Germany Tiki Taka-ed, is a little bit over the top. They moved and passed the ball well. They had a plan in place before Pep arrived. Their game revolved around the quick recovery and long retention of the ball. The crisp one touch passing to open defences was never their strength. The biggest weapon in their arsenal was the mentality of stay strong and focused. The aggression in combats and transition was complemented by the precision passing and efficient goal scoring.

The table below will illustrate how playing too many needless passes was almost fatal for Germany. The Germany struggled against Ghana, only benefitting from the Africans’ naïve play. They survived the Algerian scare as the fasting Arabs succumbed to their nutritional demands of extra time. As for Italy and Spain, we all know their fate. They were not so fortunate.

GROUPS STAGE TEAM STATISTICS

#	NUMBER OF PASSES BY TEAMS	TOTAL	AVERAGE
1	Germany	1934	645
2	Spain	1913	638
3	Italy	1735	578
4	Argentina	1694	565
5	France	1576	525

 

Given these first-round statistics, France, Argentina and Germany benefited by going through to the next round. At a later stage, one can guess the champions had a field day of passing against a pedestrian Brazilian side. If one uses that data to claim Tiki Taka is alive, there can never be a misleading statistic. For the propagation and perpetuation of the name, and not concept, what Germany played can be accepted as a positive variant of Tiki Taka, the game both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund played to reach the 2013 UEFA Champions League final.

Remember that Tiki-Taka is football characterised by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels and, most importantly, maintaining possession. Germany maintained possession well without moving the ball with short quick passes through various channels. They made efficient use of that possession and made it count, sometimes against all odds.

The Barcelona type of football would equal to walking the ball into the net as they intrinsically weaved the passes in the 12-yard box until the goal-line. Save for corner-kicks and goal melee scrambles, that did not characterise the Germany goals in the 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup. A little more similar aspect of their game was winning the ball as high as possible, especially where they lost it. This made them dangerously pounce vehemently and attack simultaneously before the opposition defence organised themselves.

Many coaches and managers find teams like Barcelona and Bayern Munich and take them to the doldrums. The genius of Guardiola made sure such never happened. To credit Spanish and Germany titles to the man is a little too generous. If there are coaches worthy of Fifa World Cup praise, can’t we look at Joachim Loew, Alejandro Pasella, Louis van Gaal and Jurgen Klinsman? also in their successful 2012/2013 treble run. There could be some truth in that but then they were more defensive-conscious and played most of the passes in their own half.

It his analysis, Oliseh noted that German goalkeeper ‘Manuel Neuer and central defenders Hummels and Boateng were the initiators of most attacks and a passing game that averaged 645 passes in a game’, scoring 17 goals in six games (a goal every 34 minutes), with 64 attempts at goal. All Germany reaped was fruits of a work that began with the squad which campaigned in 2010 South Africa Fifa World Cup, when Diego Maradona asked Muller if he was a ball boy. It was their grand plan after the failure to deliver in 24 years, not the mastermind of the great Pep Guardiola.

As for Tiki Taka, until its revival in the future, it is gone. We welcome the trend of the new world order in football, a fast paced forward moving game based on quick transition by fore-checking and crossing into the prime target areas. The Spanish football has proved it passed its usefulness, being nothing more that romance in the child-bearing process.

Should I? Anyway, viva the champions

I am tempted to go the 'I told you so' route concerning developments at the La Liga. Those familiar with the blog contents are already nodding in approval but still, if you are uninformed, I will gist you.

At the introduction people in the know will tell you about a post that claimed Barcelona were finished. I went on to explain how Jose Mourinho was the new bull in the kraal.

Much ire from the Catalans faithfuls was drawn by the assertion that their team would lose the league. It sounded like hatred as some put it.

Further observation that the team would either disintegrate or the part ways with their beloved mentor sounded like a man full of new wine.

At this point, Real Madrid are relishing their new found status that has been elusive for a while, to be Spanish champions. It took the special efforts from Mourinho. They could have played better football but no one would have remembered them this season.

Pep Guardiola won about 13 titles with his flamboyant Barcelona team in his tenure, but his elimination from the UEFA Champions League and losing the grip of the championship title that had become a personal property made him throw in the towel.

Surely, as per my prediction, that would happen regardless of the circumstances. The title would not have eluded his adversary for the successive year.

As for the player exodus, it has not yet happened. It may not, now that the coach left, but it was a certainty had it been Guardiola stayed. However, one cannot bet on everyone staying fir the new season.

Like it or not, for a moment, Barca are done. Hopefully, it will be for a few seasons and then they will come and grace our stadia and screens with that silky-touch football. For the moment, they will have to help us congratulate the champions and watch as football is played to learn a thing or two.

All this, I told you well before.

Maybe there is something wrong with me

I take it as misinformation or just pure malice that one can wake in the morning and tell me that Jose Mourinho will coach a national team. It damages me if they go on to say that the national team will be England. To even think Pep Guardiola can replace the Italian, Fabio Capello, who resigned just before his biggest assignment besides the FIFA World Cup, is an insult to the English. Maybe it is just me.

The English have interests to guard at this moment in time. The few capable people have to be approached and signed. There is no way a hyper-active Mourinho can miss the weekly action of club football for the once in a blue moon national team football. Guardiola would take it but his experience and style is as English as the Indian sari.

That is not to say we can trust the FA, but then,assuming the Barcelona gaffer is an honest man I assume him to be, the speculation is a waste of cyber space and a global warming contributor given the origins of the wasted printed paper on which the story appeared.

The FA has since indicated waiting for the EPL season to end before making a decision. That sounds more sober given Harry Redknapp will have time to assist. The speculation of him being approached catastrophically derailed Spurs off the title rail and Manchester United and City have feasted on the mishap. Thanks to Arsenal.

Elsewhere, FIFA reports that in 2011, £1.9 billion was spent on international transfer fees of players. The cash does not include transfers between domestic clubs. What portion of this figure comes to you? You are in the wrong job.

1500 Brazilian players were involved in international transfers contribution 13 per cent of the total amount. You must remember that registered professional players from the Samba countries exceed total populations of Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho and many other countries combined.

The average basic annual salary for a footballer is £153,815, giving me some home work to do. I need to upgrade my CV and hopefully soon, I will hit that mark. Let's see who gets there first between and you.

The average transfer fee is just under £1m, not a bad figure if you have an academy and look forward to market your products. Given the cost of Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Arguero, you observe there were very low figures paid out for the majority of players. 

The system that tracks all this, was set up FIFA. They are pursuing 700 procedures against clubs and associations who have breached the rules. This is best in that smaller schools and teams that produced players who get transferred before their 23rd birthday will get due reward for the football education from the football shacks. 

I pray for the arrest and jailing of dubious and fraudulent agents. Forget about Pep and Jose coaching England. 

This is what makes the coach special

The El Classico has come and gone with Barca putting Madrid to the sword by a 2-0 scoreline in the UEFA 1st Leg Quarter-final, with the final version to close the chapter on the corner. More on that with the EXTRA TIME with Vususmuzi Mourinho Ndlovu tomorrow. As for now, I have been keeping an Eagle’s eye and keeping my mouth shut about how bad Manchester United and how good Arsenal are. I have been tempted to say how average Chelsea and Spurs have become. All I manage to say was that the bottom of the English Premiership is now of more interest than the top.

There has not been lack of questions about the 2nd place and the final top 4. After their home 2-2 draw, Harry Redknapp showed how much of a top-notch coach he is. This is one man who does not put any pressure on the players. He puts things into perspective and realistically push players to give their best. This is his reaction in a post match interview.

“It’s going to be difficult but it’s still all to play for. I find it hard that now everyone expects us to be in the Champions League. Tottenham had never been in it before until this season and suddenly it is like ‘we have to be in the Champions League’. Manchester City have gone out and spent God knows what to get above us. Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are there every year, Liverpool will be there next year. It’s difficult to get fourth. It has been a great season but it’s not over yet.”

 The issue of managers took a centre stage for a moment when people started thinking Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are both heading for the Premier League. Sir Alex Ferguson once hinted opting out of Old Trafford years back but stayed put. He has not given a hint of leaving and already it’s like Jose will replace him tomorrow. Redknapp and Guardiola have been linked with Chelsea but then it is reported Chelsea have met Andre Villas-Boas’s agent in an attempt to lure the 33-year-old Porto manager to West London in the summer.

The void Mourinho leaves at Madrid is said to be an Arsene Wenger’s space. If Guardiola goes to Chelsea, who takes over at Barcelona? Who will replace Wenger should he go to Madrid and will Redknapp take the England job after Fabio Capello leaves, and who will be in charge at White Hart Lane?

(Originally from http://www.tsendex.wordpress.com/)

Jose Mourinho on Coach of The Year; 'Give it to me' and he is right

The year is drawing to an end and I have good memories of the 2010 football, especially the FIFA World Cup. The controversies of the tournament led me to write one article in which I suggested FIFA should abolish offside rule altogether among other laws. One reader made the best comment ever on the story. 'My bro, you are going crazy now, you are losing it. I am serious'. That is my highlight of the year.

Talking of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Spain were victors without playing much football. Their first and second round encounter were lucky affairs that showed much fatigue on the part of the Barcelona contingent that made the bulk of the players. It was a breathe of fresh air to see the traditional owners of the Cup, Brazil and Germany, to some extent, Argentina, France and Italy were not even in the final.

Spain were coached by Vicente del Bosque. He proved to be a good tactician and though a little boring for a conductor of orchestra, he won the FIFA World Cup. Spain did not a perfect record but achieved the objective. Among the contenders of the Coach of the Year, is Carlo Ancelotti of Chelsea, Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Pep Guardiola of Barcelona.

Jose Mourinho wants it and has openly said, 'Give it to me'. This is why. At Inter Milan, he won the ultimate national cup, the national league and the European championship. He did that is style. Basically, he won everything there was for him to win. He ran out of competitions to win and did not have competitors at all. That puts him on top, whether you like him or not.