Sports Category
Sports news, commentary and scores with wit and added value. We compare and contrast the best and worst sports reporting in the mainstream press, blogs, TV and online. We love the English Premier League (Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester United and Manchester City) and all things football but we cover cricket, rugby, the Olympics, tennis, golf, F1 and highlights of the sporting year.
Newcastle United balls: Gutierrez sues club for disability discrimination
Jonas Gutierrez is suing Newcastle for £2million. The Sun says the former Newcastle midfielder is upset at the way the club treated him over his battle with testicular cancer. The paper says he’s claiming disability discrimination by the club.
Gutierrez, 32, was forced to pay for his own treatment after being diagnosed with the illness in October 2013. He recovered and helped ensure Newcastle’s Premier League survival in May — but was then released. The Argentine star, who is now playing for Spanish outfit Deportivo La Coruna, said: “The fact Newcastle did not offer me a new contract could have been interpreted as though I was not well.”
It could have been. Just as it could have been interpreted that Arsenal didn’t offer the often crocked About Diaby a new contract because of his health issues.
The Sun loads the dice:
Gutierrez scored in the final-day win over West Ham, which ensured Newcastle stayed up. But he was then dumped while on a coaching course with team-mate Ryan Taylor.
It is undeniably craven to release a player or any staff member over the phone.
The Sun cites the Equality Act 2010.
The Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against workers because of mental or physical disability, and considers diagnosis of cancer as a disability.
Should they have kept him on? Was he good enough to play for one of the Premier League’s worst teams?
Manchester United: new adidas retro kit comes with free Chelsea bottoms
Adidas know their market when it comes to flogging footy gear to the new fans. The firm’s new line of retro Manchester United kit includes the ‘1985 track jacket’. For a mere £65 the jacket goes well with the Chelsea sweatpants.
Spotter: Pies
Posted: 13th, October 2015 | In: Chelsea, Fashion, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Spurs chase Moses as Gent suffer shock loss
Danny keen to hook up with Son
Transfer Balls: a look at football reporting in the news. The Mail and Mirror say Spurs are chasing Moses Daddy-Ajala Simon. Compare and contrast the newspapers’ reports.
Tottenham are following Gent winger Moses Simon. Club scouts have been following Gent’s centre forward Laurent Depoitre, who started and scored for Belgium against Andorra. A Nigeria international, Simon scored seven goals last season as Gent finished second in the Belgian Pro League and set up Depoitre for the winning goal in the Belgian Super Cup.
Tottenham and Liverpool wanted to sign Simon when he was a teenager but he opted to train with Ajax instead. Now they are back on his trail after a string of impressive performances. Depoitre scored Belgium’s fourth goal on Saturday night as they sealed their place at next summer’s European Championships with a 4-1 victory over Andorra
Tottenham are tracking Gent winger Moses Simon. Spurs are already monitoring the progress of the club’s Belgium forward Laurent Depoitre, who started and scored against Andorra on Saturday. And now they are watching Simon, 20, a Nigeria wideman who scored seven times last season to help Gent win the Belgian Pro League.
‘The North Londoners have been keen on Simon since he was a teenager, but he chose to train with Dutch club Ajax instead. Depoitre, 26, hit the fourth goal in the 4-1 win for Belgium over Andorra that sealed their place at the Euro 2016 Finals’ – Darren Lewis, Mirror Football.
This is last season’s Belgian league table:
Gent won. But the two papers appear to agree pretty much for for word on everything else.
Posted: 13th, October 2015 | In: Reviews, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Transfer balls: Muller invites Manchester United to show him the money
Transfer Balls: Can it be that Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller is on his way to Manchester United?
The Manchester Evening News reports:
Manchester United transfer news: Muller hints at ‘tempting’ MUFC move
What was his hint? He said:
“In the end, we should not forget that playing football is our job. People should accept that wages will always play a role in a player’s decision-making. Of course, the wages that are being paid in the Premier League are very tempting. It would be hypocrisy to deny that.”
And…
“You have to look at the complete package to determine whether something is right for you. What’s good for you one day will not necessarily still be good for you the day after. I know that a lot of German clubs are unhappy with the Premier League clubs’ spending, but I think it is something good for all clubs in the end. It can only be a good thing for football when clubs invest so much money…”
…in Premier League footballers’ wages. Because that’s where the money goes.
In 2014, Muller said:
“[On Manchester United’s multi million euros offer], of course, I was aware that I could theoretically earn more with a transfer. The sums that were standing by foreign clubs in the room were already astronomical. I can only say: For me, a change was never really an issue anyway. FC Bayern is my club.”
Bayern reportedly rejected a £60m bid from Manchester United for Müller last summer.
Posted: 12th, October 2015 | In: manchester united, Sports | Comment
Sam Allardyce invested in Microsoft software but still didn’t get the England job
New Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce wanted to be the England manager. He still wants the job. In the Sun, Allardyce shares with readers why he failed to get the nod in 2005.
“I wanted to do a real knock-your-socks-off interview for the FA, so I put together a PowerPoint presentation which looked at every single detail. There was nothing missing. Nobody but nobody was going to beat it.
“But then Brian Barwick, the chief executive, told me there were no PowerPoint facilities at the interview venue, so I had to print off hard copies for the panel. So much for the progressive FA.”
Next time, Big Same will wow them with Ascii.
Klopp watch: the Ulla Sandrock head poncho contest
You should see the size of the Cups
Klopp Watch: a look at reporting on the Liverpool manager.
Daily Mirror: “Who is Jurgen Klopp’s wife Ulla Sandrock? All you need to know about the Liverpool boss’s other half”
Key facts from the big list:
Ulla Sandrock, who was known as the ‘First Lady of Bundesliga’
That would make the President of the Bundesliga, which is odd given that he works in the Premier League.
Ms Sandrock is well known to the German media and was a regular at Borussia Dortmund games, but is she ready to compete with Merseyside’s finest WAGs?
Compete for what?
The Liverpool Echo adds: “New LFC boss Jurgen Klopp’s wife loves Liverpool fashion”
Jurgen Klopp’s wife is a big fan of Scouse fashion, according to… former Big Brother contestant Rebeckah Vaughan… Rebeckah, from Bidston, said: “My dad is a huge Liverpool fan so I’d heard all about him. We went up to his wife and I asked if she liked Liverpool and she said she did. I offered her a drink but she declined. She had on a lovely poncho so we discussed Scouse fashion…”
The poncho was invented in Toxteth in 1897.
Posted: 12th, October 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Klopp Watch: Liverpool’s new Avram Grant, Sefton Park stalkers and dreaming of Stuttgart
Klopp Watch: Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has been speaking to German newspaper Bild:
“There is no doubt, this is a huge challenge, for me and my coaching team. We knew that full well [when we accepted the job]. Liverpool have not had any success for a long time and they’ve changed the manager all the time. And now they have appointed a German who is no miracle worker. Progress is not possible without a bit of time…
“I spoke to the people in charge of the club at length. [There are no targets for this season], just simply to play football with a recognisable brand…
“Whether there is money to spend in January or not doesn’t interest me. We are only in October and I don’t even know how many games we’ve got until the transfer window opens and therefore we will have a look at the players at our disposal first.”
What about the language?
“We will all have English lessons. I was relieved after the first press conference. I have said some stupid things in my life. But never in English… Did I dream about becoming a Liverpool manager when I was a kid? No, I dreamed about playing for Stuttgart, and that didn’t work out. But I am totally humbled to be here. It is almost a bit bizarre: there have been so many good and successful German managers and yet no one has been here.”
The Mail picks up the story. It also publishes paparazzi photographs of Klopp, his wife, son, son’s girlfriend and dog stood by a wall in Sefton Park. This is the Mail that swore off paparazzi photos after Princess Diana died. One photo is captioned:
Klopp’s wife Ulla bends down to stroke her pet dog while the Liverpool boss looks on along with his stepson (second left at back) and his girlfriend (third right), his driver (second right) and a club liaison officer (far right)
In another caption, the Mail reads his mind
Klopp will be hoping to be settled in his new apartment before Liverpool’s next match against Tottenham
The Guardian says “Klopp is expected to deliver – and fast“. We hear more from Klopp:
“People should not make me out to be like Jesus, I don’t walk on water.I understand that there are huge expectations surrounding this club, and expectations are important in life, not just football, but I hope no one really thinks I can perform wonders. Of course I cannot. I am not really enjoying all this attention, to be honest. I didn’t ask for it and I am hoping that after the initial big hype we can all cool down a little and get to work.
“I am glad everyone seems happy I am here, but some people seem to think that because Jürgen is here everything will change. I can’t promise that. Some things will change, for sure, and I might be different to other managers in some respects, but we cannot change the whole world in one day. I am sure Liverpool fans are clever enough to understand that we need time. If things need changing I want to do it as soon as possible, but patience is important.”
Paul Wilson adds:
Time is what every manager asks for, with Brendan Rodgers no exception. The trick is to buy it with results, visible improvement and perhaps even silverware. As Klopp attempts to move from trophy manager to manager responsible for trophies, he can be under no illusions that being in charge of Liverpool at the moment is anything other than daunting.
Sky Sports has news of ‘The Normal One’.
Jurgen Klopp had no plans to call himself ‘the Normal One’ before Liverpool unveiling
It too has read the Bild interview:
Speaking to the media for the first time since taking over at Anfield, Klopp was asked about how he compared himself to Jose Mourinho who labelled himself ‘The Special One’ when he became Chelsea manager in 2004.
Klopp delighted reporters with his tongue-in-cheek response, saying: “I’m a very normal guy from the Black Forest. I’m the normal one, maybe.”
But, speaking to German newspaper Bild, Klopp says it was an unplanned remark.
“No, I hadn’t thought about that at all,” Klopp said.
“I was asked and simply answered. Sometimes it is better to keep your mouth shut – but that is quite difficult at a press conference.”
Not that being the Normal one is original.
The Guardian tells us:
Avram Grant described himself as the “normal” one as he vowed to coach Chelsea in his own way after taking over from ‘the Special One’. Grant was unveiled as first-team coach at Stamford Bridge this evening, taking over from Jose Mourinho following the shock events at the club this week, but he made a less dramatic immediate impact than his predecessor.
More Klopp Watch most days.
Posted: 12th, October 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Liverpool reject Rodgers tipped for Aston Villa job
Transfer Balls:what next for Liverpool reject Brendan Rodgers?
The Sun says Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has a few games to save his job. If he goes Villa will turn to Brendan Rodgers, recently booted from Liverpool. Villa fans should be pleased. Rodgers has vision. Sherwood has a gilet.
Villa fans not all that keen on Rodgers can turn to the Daily Mail and learn that Real Sociedad manager David Moyes is also in the frame. why Moyes wold want the Villa job is a moot point. Surely he’d wait for team higher up the table to offer him a return to English football?
Everton balls: Tim Howard in kiss ‘n’ abort tabloid stinger
In “Prem ace made me abort our baby”, the Sun looks at Everton goalkeepers Tim Howard, a divorced father of two and committed Christian, Howard has, reportedly, “got a girlfriend pregnant then urged her to have an abortion”
The story you can read in full on the Sun’s website. But here are some highlights.
The revelations shatter 36-year-old Howard’s image as a family man.
He’s divorced. He has been single since 2010. He met the girlfriend in 2014.
The 32-year-old woman says:
“He’s a hypocrite and I feel he manipulated me. I feel totally betrayed, a complete fool. I believe he stayed with me to make sure I had an abortion. In the end I made the decision on my own to have the abortion.”
Is she a hypocrite, then?
“I’m so sad I sacrificed a child I wanted to keep. It makes me so mad that he was a faithful Christian and he could behave like this.”
We later learn that she’s a… Catholic. Does that make you mad?
Her next line might be the non-sequitur of the year. She says:
“One of the first things he asked was if I had a phone charger. He didn’t seem like a typical footballer.”
Footballers always carry their own phone chargers, typically.
Tim Howard has Tourette’s. No sniggering now:
When she eventually told him [she was pregnant] over the phone, she was stunned by his response. She said: “His reaction was, ‘F**k that’.”
She then really nails him.
He said he would let me decide but it was clear to me what he wanted. Although we were in the early stages, I believed he was a good Christian and would support me.”
He left it up to her. The cad. The swine.
In messages, she told of her reservations about an abortion saying: “You are blessed with two children. I am killing ours. Eughhhh!!!”
He then told her:
“My logic/reason is . . . it’s clearly not a situation to bring a child into. In terms of us only knowing each other a short period. I’m leaving England in 2 years you know.”
The sensible pig. He then added:
“It happened bc WE were f**n stupid. It’s simple.”
He tells the Press:
“This is a private matter and it is unfortunate that, for whatever reason, the person concerned has chosen to take her version of events public. I have no interest in discussing it further.”
It is private. After all, we don’t get to know her name.
Liverpool balls: Klopp joins the transfer committee he hated
Jurgen Klopp news (again). Those experts in the mainstream media had a few words to say about Liverpool’s new manager:
Joe Bernstein, Mail, 27 September:
Jurgen Klopp would demand the end of Liverpool’s transfer committee if he is to succeed Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager.
Jurgen Klopp join Liverpool. He tells media on October 9,”
“[The transfer committee] was not a problem for 10 seconds. We talked about it. For me it is enough that I have the first and the last words. We only want to discuss about very good players. I’m not a genius, I don’t know more than the rest of the world. I need the people who get the perfect information.”
Well, they did target Luis Suarez…
Posted: 10th, October 2015 | In: Liverpool, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Liverpool: If Jurgen Klopp is the news Benitez Liverpool will be a lucky flash in the pan
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is just like Rafa Benitez, the Buddha of Anfield who led the Reds to Champions’ League glory. Well so say all the papers.
The Telegraph:
The similarities between Benitez’s appointment and Klopp’s are striking.
Oh?
Both left their home country having built their reputation slaying their nation’s financial superpowers with clubs of far less resources, utilising the qualities of players they improved rather than paid a fortune for.
In other words Liverpool have invested in a known winner.
Like Benitez, Klopp won two domestic titles before deciding to fulfil the ambition of taking on a Premier League giant in need of revival. He left Borussia Dortmund on his own terms with an emotional goodbye, echoing Benitez’s farewell to Valencia eleven years ago.
Uncanny. It’s almost as if Liverpool have a plan: hire a foreign manager whose made it.
No, says the Metro. This is fate.
Rafael Benitez was the last manager to lead the club to any sort of success and there are spooky similarities between the start of his reign and the start of Klopp’s.
Go on, Will Giles:
Klopp signed his three-year contract in the sixth boardroom of the appropriately named Hope Street Hotel – which is exactly the same place where Benitez signed his in June 2004.
Spooky!
But it doesn’t stop there – Benitez’s first league game in charge of Liverpool was Tottenham away. Klopp’s first game in charge? Tottenham away.
The game ended 1-1.
Benitez also managed to win the Champions League in his first season and while Klopp won’t be able to replicate that success straight away, you can’t deny that the omens look good.
You can. But the Daily Mirror can’t.
The eerie fact that suggests Jurgen Klopp could be as successful at Liverpool as Rafa Benitez
Klopp has promised a trophy within four years at Anfield – but could one arrive even sooner now we’ve discovered this omen?
Good if it does because he’s only on a three-year deal.
Klopp promised a trophy within four years to the Anfield faithful and maybe that’s because he knows his arrival at the club has more than a hint of Rafa Benitez’s. Because Klopp signed his mega-bucks Liverpool contract in the very same room that Benitez did way back in 2004. Both put pen to paper in the sixth boardroom of the Hope Street Hotel.
Spooky!
Oh, good grief.
Benitez won the Champions League in his first season at Liverpool and the FA Cup a year later. He remained a massively popular figure despite no league titles.
Not massively popular with everyone, though. In 2010, with four years of his five-year contract to run, Rafa was “extremely sad” to be leaving the club.
Good lucky, Jurgen. You’re gonna need it.
Liverpool balls: how much Klopp is now earning at Anfield
Liverpool have appointed affable German Jurgen Klopp and the papers agree that he’s terrific.
But what’s he earning at Liverpool?
Daily Telegraph: Klopp signed a three year deal worth £7 million a season.
The Times: £25m for three seasons.
But it’s just £6m for the migrant worker the Mail:
In Bild it’s €10 million-a-year. That’s around £7.4m a season.
But it’s down to £5m in the BBC:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 9th, October 2015 | In: Liverpool, Money, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Liverpool balls: Klopp joined a week ago but signs tomorrow
Jurgen Klopp has agreed a three-year deal to manage Liverpool FC. If it goes well, chances are he’ll be offered the Arsenal job. Only joking. It’ll be Chelsea. That for later.
Of course, readers of some other newspapers were told Klopp had agreed to join Liverpool well before the club made their announcement this afternoon – and some before the German had even spoken with the club.
October 7: Daily Express
October 6, Daily Star
October 4, The Metro
September 29, The Week
Such are the facts.
Watch: fighter shits pants in middle of fight
A shit fight
What is the ultimate move in MMA fighting? That question to Travis Wolford, who took on Daniel Cooper in a West Virginia ‘Ruckus in the Cage’. We join the action as Cooper traps Wolford in a guillotine choke.
Whose chocking now?
Promoter Chris Smith grabs the nappies:
Everyone is still talking about it. Never seen anything this gross in my entire career of promoting fights but shit happens and could happen to anyone. Daniel Cooper literally beat the crap out of “The Brown Bomber” Travis Wolford in Ruckus in the Cage in Beckley Oct. 3. Before the fights started he went to Chili Night and ate some hot chili. During his bout he had a colossal explosion where chili beans and everything he ate landed all over the mat. Says he instantly lost 15 pounds…. Plans on fighting November 13 in Summersville to prove that it was just an accident. Any takers? Chris Smith
Yeah. Two.
Spotter: BroBibee
Chelsea: it costs £30m and rising to sack Jose Mourinho?
Should Chelsea FC sack their bitchy manager Jose Moutinho, what would that termination of contract cost the club?
Daily Star:
EXCLUSIVE – ROMAN ABRAMOVICH faces a world record £37.5m pay-out if he decides to sack Jose Mourinho. Starsport can reveal the Chelsea manager is on a contract worth over £10m a year at Stamford Bridge’
Daily Mirror:
Jose Mourinho set for £30million payout if Chelsea wield axe on under-pressure boss…Mourinho signed a lucrative new deal worth around £8.5million-a-year two months ago after winning the League in May and the Capital One Cup three months earlier
Incidentally, up until 2012, Chelsea under owner Roman Abramovich had paid £37 million in compensation to seven managers.
Liverpool balls: Shankly and the transfer committee bought winners, Brendan Rodgers picked the dross
Much has been written about Liverpool FC’s Transfer Committee. The group that signed Luis Suarez also signed Mario Balotelli. They don’t always get it right. But can it be an excuse for Brendan Rodgers’ failure at Anfield?
Guardian, July 2014: “Liverpool transfer failings suggest Luis Suárez won’t be adequately replaced”
…many of the targets identified by Rodgers and “the team” have proven to be high-level talents – the only problem is that they’ve done so at other clubs. Liverpool wanted Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but he joined Borussia Dortmund, they also wanted Willian and Mohamed Salah, but they joined Chelsea, while a move last summer for Diego Costa, who has just joined the Stamford Bridge club from Atlético Madrid on the back of finishing as top scorer for the La Liga champions, also came to nothing.
The committee is good at talent spotting, then. They also wanted Alexis Sanchez, but he rejected Liverpool and chose Arsenal.
Daily Mail, July 2014: “Liverpool buying big to replace Luis Suarez would go against the club’s principles and Brendan Rodgers’ instinct”
Oh?
So where would you start? You have been thrust into the role of Liverpool manager and your first task is to fill the void created by Luis Suarez’s departure to Barcelona… How about Karim Benzema, then? …He would cost in the region of £50m and demand huge wages but money isn’t an object for you, so why not? If Benzema isn’t for you, what about Marco Reus from Borussia Dortmund? Yours for £45m. When he recovers from the ankle ligament damage that cost him a place in Germany’s World Cup winning-squad, there is no doubt he deserves a place in European football’s ‘A’ list.
Others would have to be considered. Why not Radamel Falcao, a striker who deserves to be playing in front of a bigger, more passionate crowd than Monaco’s? Edinson Cavani from Paris Saint-Germain, maybe? Angel Di Maria, or even Mario Balotelli?
Were Liverpool to land any of the aforementioned players, the news would be huge, the fee would be massive but, more than anything, the deal would represent a shift in a policy that goes back to the days of Bill Shankly. Liverpool, in the main, do not raid big clubs to sign big names – they identify talent and turn them into stars.
The committee is upholding Liverpool traditions.
Indy, October 2014: “Brendan Rodgers is being let down by the Liverpool ‘transfer committee’ – only two of 23 players signed since 2012 have been successes”
Which two?
The ‘transfer committee’, an idea of Fenway Sports Group, includes chief executive, Ian Ayre, Michael Edwards, the head of analysis and the head of recruitment, Dave Fallows. Rodgers has final say on signings…
Rodgers has seen 23 new players arrive either permanently or on loan at Anfield in his spell in charge and, at a quick count, only two of those have proved themselves to be truly successful under the Northern Irishman.
Those two are Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho…
They are top players. But did Rodgers want them?
Liverpool Echo: October 2015: “Brendan Rodgers and the Liverpool FC transfer committee: a source of constant friction”
Rodgers was the driving force behind signing the likes of Fabio Borini, Joe Allen, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert, Danny Ings, James Milner and Christian Benteke, while the other members of the committee championed the suitability of players such as Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Sakho, Emre Can, Moreno, Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Lazar Markovic, Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino
No. The committee picked the two winners.
Daily Mirror, October 2015:
So Liverpool ‘s mysterious transfer committee has finally suffered its first casualty.
Although it says it all about FSG’s strategy that one of the six members has only gone because they have sacked Brendan Rodgers.
The committee was responsible for turning FSG’s misguided ‘Moneyball’ theory into practice in the transfer market.
Headed by the FSG’s powerful president Mike Gordon, who sacked Rodgers by trans-Atlantic phone call yesterday, it now comprises chief executive Ian Ayre, director of scouting Dave Fallows, chief scout Barry Hunter and director of performance ‘stats guy’ Michael Edwards.
Their brief is to find undervalued talent, preferably young or Bosman signings, for the coach to nurture.
But Rodgers wanted Sakho, Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto, right. The Echo told us he did.
He didn’t want Mamadou Sakho or Iago Aspas or Luis Alberto.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 7th, October 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comments (2)
Chelsea balls: Mourinho attacked by three out-of-work managers
The Sun says “top bosses” have piled in on Jose Mourinho, whose Chelsea side are not yet flying high.
Who are these “top bosses” placing Jose “under siege“?
Former England boss Fabio Capello, Dutch legend Johan Cruyff and Harry Redknapp have all gone on the attack. Ex-Tottenham chief Redknapp claims the root of the Blues’ Premier League demise could be the players simply do not like Mourinho.
None of the trio are in management just now. But they do have careers as pundits.
First up: Redknapp:
“Maybe some players don’t like him. It’s quite possible. I think everybody loved him the first time he came. Maybe now, some of the new players aren’t happy with the way they’re being treated or don’t like the way he talks to them… He’s never had to cope with that before. It must be very strange for him.”
Yeah, maybe. Or, er, maybe not. And if that’s not attacking Jose, then surely this isn’t either:
“He will come back… It’s up to him to sort it out. It’s his biggest test and I’m sure he’s going to come through this test.”
Now Capello:
“Mourinho is a strategist… He is a great manager but after a year-and-a-half he burns the players… The cycles of the manager of Chelsea last more or less this period. The team lacks rhythm, is missing the ‘nastiness’ and there’s no aggression.”
Cruyff:
“I don’t think he is educating children to play football or educating for life. He should behave better because he will be in the press all over the world.”
What the Sun does not tell its readers it was else Cruff said:
“He’s controversial. What I like about him is he’s always capable of creating good ambience within the players and what I don’t like is that he always puts himself on the first row. He should be on the second row. It’s probably because of his background, where he’s never been cheered by 100,000 people, or whistled at by 100,000 people. Maybe it’s because of that, maybe because of the interest from the press, but I don’t think he is educating children to play football or educating for life. He should behave better because he will be in the press all over the world.”
So says the Barcelona legend about the former manager of Real Madrid.
Mourinho must be distraught.
Transfer Balls: Benzema to Arsenal (says the Metro)
Transfer Balls: Arsenal are buying Karim Benzema. Well, so sys the Metro, which says the French striker is not happy because Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez substituted him in five of his last six league starts.
“It’s true I’m fed up of being taken off,” Benzema tells AS. “I’m calm and will continue to work so I’m not always substituted.”
Of course, what it also means is that Benitez keeps picking the player to start matches. In other words, he’s first choice at Madrid.
Manchester United: Van Gaal blames team for Arsenal defeat; team blames him
In an “Exclusive”, the Times says Manchester United players were “baffled” by Louis van Gaal’s tactics against Arsenal. United were lucky to lose 3-0 at the Emirates.
Manchester United’s players were left dismayed by Louis van Gaal’s unwillingness to adopt the counterattacking tactics at the Emirates Stadium that have served them well against Arsenal in the past. Van Gaal had been encouraged in the build-up to the game to play a system that would involve sitting deeper and hitting on the break but the United manager rebuffed that request in favour of playing a pressing game that failed miserably en route to a dismal 3-0 defeat.
Arsenal ripped them to shreds.
The Dutchman questioned his players’ desire and failure to follow his game plan after United fluffed the first serious test of their Barclays Premier League title credentials on Sunday… Arsenal had won just one of their previous 13 league meetings against United, who have often successfully utilised a counterattacking strategy against Arsène Wenger’s side. Several members of United’s squad believed this was a proven formula that had worked well in the past and would be worth persisting with.
To the Daily Express, this news translates into:
Louis van Gaal faces potential crisis with Man Utd players dismayed over Arsenal tactics
The Indy quotes Van Gaal:
“I was surprised, amazed. I didn’t expect that: not performing to our game plan, not the will to win. I have not seen that. When you give a team like Arsenal so much space to play football then you know you will lose. We have prepared ourselves to play more compact and not losing our aggression. I am very disappointed.
“I don’t know why it happened. I put the question at half-time and after the match because normally I say the things how I see them in the game. We have lost, and lost in a way that you cannot lose when you are top of the league. You cannot start like we started. The worst thing is that now everybody is going away now (on international duty). I can’t build up a new situation so they have the confidence to play football to win your next battle.”
He says it was them. They say it was him.
Posted: 6th, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Liverpool: Klopp and Fowler are the dream team
Franz Beckenbauer says Liverpool must got for Jürgen Klopp as Brendan Rodgers’ replacement. Says Beckenbauer:
“He is fantastic. He is one of the best coaches I know in the whole world, and he was really a milestone for Borussia Dortmund. He took over the club and made them into a world-class team. If Liverpool has the chance to sign Jürgen Klopp then they should do it. He likes to talk. There are not many coaches left in the world that like to talk so much to the players but he is one of them. Liverpool is also one of the biggest clubs in the world, so Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp is definitely a good combination. He is also a winner.”
Why would Beckenbauer, a stalwart at Bayern Munich, be praising Klopp? This is what Klopp had to say about Bayern:
“Bayern go about football in the same way that the Chinese go about industry. They look at what the others are doing, and then they copy it with other people and more money.”
Meanwhile, Robbie Fower, the former Liverpool ‘God’, wants to be part of the new regime. He says:
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested. If a new manager comes in I’d love to be part of the backroom staff. Liverpool is a massive part of my life; if that was to be the case then I would absolutely love that. My personal view on Klopp is that he is a very good manager. I don’t know him, I’ve never met him, but looking at it from the outside I was impressed with his performances over in Germany with Dortmund. I like what I see.”
When at Dortmund, Klopp set out his vision for gegenpressing – the way his teams hunt the ball in groups:
“The fans should not only recognise us from our black-and-yellow shirts. Even if we were playing in red, everyone in the stadium should think: ‘Woah! That can only be Dortmund’.”
Liverpool soon-to-be-twinned with Dortmund. Sounds exciting.
Liverpool balls: Rodgers was a ‘bizarre genius’ with great teeth
Pundit Watch: The Daily Mail’s Adrian Durham has bene talking about Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers’ sacking.
October 6 2015: “Brendan Rodgers was too much like David Brent to succeed at Liverpool… it was three years of excuses, blame-shifting and bizarre motivation techniques”
The joke went round some weeks ago that the most significant improvement Brendan Rodgers has made since he arrived at Liverpool is to his teeth.
December 2, 2014:
The critics have put last season’s massive improvement down to Luis Suarez. There have been plenty of teams who have had a special player who didn’t achieve what Liverpool did last season (look at Spurs with Gareth Bale as a recent example). It was so much more than that, and Rodgers deserves his share of the credit for taking a team from a bang average seventh-place finish in 2012-13, to within a whisker of the title last season.
November 4, 2014: “Liverpool’s sluggish start to the season should not overshadow Brendan Rodgers’ outstanding achievements last term”
I’m amazed how quickly some people have forgotten how brilliantly Rodgers did with Liverpool last season.
September 9, 2014: “Brendan Rodgers’ man-management has transformed Jordan Henderson into a vital player for club and country”
…under Rodgers he has become a brilliant midfield player who can control a game, keep the ball and use it with intelligence and quality.
March 4, 2014:
Tactical genius. That’s what Brendan Rodgers is. …
A lot of managers have been praised this season for showing tactical prowess but none can top what Rodgers has done. He’s changed formation from game to game and during matches. But more impressive than that, he’s devised a system to allow good players to flourish and enjoy their football.
Bizarre, indeed.
Posted: 6th, October 2015 | In: Liverpool, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Rugby World Cup: England prepare for quarter-finals (photo)
England prepare for the rugby World Cup Quarter Finals:
Liverpool balls: Harry Redknapp hopes Milner settles in England and rewrites history for Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodger is out of a job at Liverpool. And here’s Harry Redknapp to explain all. The headline makes his case:
Harry Redknapp: Brendan Rodgers should not have been sacked by Liverpool – he is a victim of modern football
By modern football, presumably, Redknapp means the Premier League, which has not not exactly proved un-lucrative for him and his. Rodgers lasted 3 years and 2 months in the Liverpool manager’s chair.
Before him, the Liverpool’s manager’s job was not exactly a role for life:
George Patterson: 1 June 1915 – 14 December 1919
David Ashworth England: December 1919 – February 1923
Matt McQueen: 1February 1923 – February 1928 229
George Patterson: March 1928 – August 1936
George Kay: August 1936 – January 1951
Don Welsh: March 1951 – May 1956
Phil Taylor: May 1956 – November 1959
Bill Shankly: December 1959 – July 1974
Bob Paisley: August 1974 – July 1983
Joe Fagan: July 1983 – May 1985
Kenny Dalglish: May 1985 – February 1991
Ronnie Moran: February 1991 – April 1991
Graeme Souness: April 1991 – January 1994
Roy Evans: January 1994 – November 1998
Evans & Gérard Houllier: July 1998 – November 1998
Gérard Houllier: 16 July 1998 – May 2004
Rodgers fits a patten, no? So what was “modern’ about his removal?
I feel desperately sorry for Brendan, it is too soon for him to be sacked after eight games, but it does seem to have been coming for weeks. For me, though, he has taken the blame for other people at Liverpool.
He was not sacked after eight weeks. He was sacked after threes years and two months.
In the modern game, it never seems to be the manager who signs the players, it’s just the manager who takes the blame when things don’t work out. It happens all the time and it is exasperating sometimes.
In the good old days, the Government had a say in who played. In 1922 the State-imposed maximum wage for a player set at £8 a week (£6 in the summer), plus a loyalty bonus of £650 after five years. The maximum wage was abolished in 1961.
Managers don’t have the same say on transfers that they used to, but they are still expected to take the blame if the new signings don’t work out. They have these transfer committees, but it’s only the manager who sticks his head above the parapet and he’s the one who gets shot at. The other lot just stay in the background, out of sight, but they have huge power. The only time you ever hear from them is when one of the players signed becomes a huge success.
Redknapp would, of course, never get praise for someone else’s work.
I don’t think Brendan has signed those new players at Liverpool. They’ve brought in players from Brazil and I don’t think he will have known much about them.
Let’s look at Liverpool’s Brazilian players.
Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira joined from German side Hoffenheim
Lucas Leivia joined from Brazilian club Grêmio in 2007
Philippe Coutinho joined from Italy’s Internazionale
If Rodgers doesn’t know much about players in other top European league’s, you should worry.
Redknapp concludes:
I don’t think Brendan deserved to go so soon into the season. I think they’ve got a wonderful chance of finishing in the top four this season… The thing that will frustrate him is that those new players may well go on to benefit the next manager. They will settle in England and they will get used to the Premier League.
Last summer, Rodgers signed:
James Milner – Man City – Free
Danny Ings – Burnley – Tribunal
Adam Bogdan – Bolton – Free
Joe Gomez – Charlton – £3.5m
Roberto Firmino – Hoffenheim – £29m
Nathaniel Clyne – Southampton – £12.5m
Let’s hop Milner and the other migrant workers settle in England.
This, of course, is the same Redknapp who told Telegraph readers in September 2015:
I don’t fancy Liverpool at all. I think it’s the worst Liverpool team I have seen in years. They look bang average. They are lucky to have any points. Bournemouth should have beaten them, they got a wonder goal at Stoke. Okay, they played all right first-half at Arsenal. I think they will do well to finish in the top five. I am not with Liverpool at all this year.
Modern football eh, full of overpaid pundits.
Posted: 5th, October 2015 | In: Liverpool, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Pundit Watch: Arsenal get their first clean sheet against Man United because Liverpool and Newcastle don’t count
Pundit Watch: the BBC’s Garth Crooks has news for Arsenal fans.
I saw Gabriel stand up to Chelsea’s Diego Costa recently at Stamford Bridge and he refused to be intimidated by the striker. Sadly for Arsenal, he paid a heavy price for his boldness and was sent off.
That red card was rescinded, Garth.
His performance, while less demanding against Manchester United, was extremely professional and he looked like a very composed defender with the ball at his feet. He reduced Anthony Martial to the minimum of chances and was instrumental in Arsenal’s first clean sheet of the season.
Arsenal fans will wonder if clean sheets against Stoke, Newcastle and Liverpool count?
Vale Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers’ top 10 quotes
Liverpool have sacked Brendan Rodgers, the man who liked to talk in parables. He’s was much the Jesus of middle-management-style football coaching. Here were his greatest hits…
1. ”It was a perfect away performance, apart from the first 10 minutes.”
2. “I’ve always said that you can live without water for many days, but you can’t live for a second without hope.”
3. On Luis Suarez: “He is a real warrior of spirit.”
4. “My biggest mentor is myself because I’ve had to study, so that’s been my biggest influence.”
5. “I am not a power freak.” (We think the lady doth protest too much!)
6. “I started coaching for one reason and that was to make a difference for people, not just as footballers but as human beings.”
7. “When we have the football, everybody’s a player.”
8. “You train dogs, I like to educate players.”
9. ‘I think there’s three players who will let us down this year — the cause, the fight, everything – and I have written them down already in these three envelopes. Make sure you are not in one of the envelopes.”
10.”I use a quote with the players,“Per aspera ad astra”, which is Latin for ‘through adversity to the stars’.”
