Aston Villa currently lie 13th in the Premier League and only 3 points off the drop zone. It is too early to say yet whether Houllier is better or worse than Martin O’Neill but considering that a few fans are starting to get on Gerard’s back already its worth taking a look at the French mans credentials.
If we take a look at the stats, Martin O’Neill had a slightly superior record in his first 14 games of the season, in that he had won 6, drawn 6 and only lost twice. Houllier currently stands with a record of won 5, drawn 4 and lost 5 times. It must be said Kevin MacDonald, former acting manager took charge of some of these games, however, the facts remain Martin O’Neill’s Villa reign started more convincingly.
This said, “Under O’Neill, by this stage of the season Villa were already out of the Carling Cup and had only won 1 more game than Villa have this year despite the fixtures this year being more challenging than the start of the 2006/2007 season, not to mention the league has generally become a lot stronger since 2006.” This alludes to the idea that at these early stages of Houllier’s Villa career he is showing that he has the potential to emulate O’Neill.
We must also remember that this is Villa’s third manager of the year, adjusting to a new style is always a transitional period. Villa still have a lightweight squad, and some would argue that Houllier is currently on par with O’Neill when looking at the early stages of both their stints at the club.
“This is where it gets really interesting, after the first 14 games O’Neill then went on a terrible period with Villa where his squad picked up just 3 wins in the next 21 games!” I would be extremely shocked if Houllier did not ‘emulate’ this poor record and subsequently place himself in a stronger position with the fans than O’Neill had done previously.
It is evident that O’Neills first season in charge was one he would probably want to forget, it also shows that miracles will not happen overnight. Whatever your opinion of Houllier is at the moment, the man deserves time to transform the club back into a force to be reckoned with. Houllier has a very decent managerial record and I am confident he can enjoy some success at Aston Villa…after his transitional period
What do you think? Can Houllier emulate Martin O’Neill’s efforts at Villa?
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Chelsea captain John Terry wants to see his struggling team-mates collect all three Premier League points when they take on Everton this weekend.
The Toffees travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday and, Terry, who has been hampered with a hamstring problem, is hopeful the Pensioners can get their title charge back on track after a recent barren spell.
Just one win from their previous five league outings has allowed Manchester United to jump to the top of the tree, but Terry is confident they can turn the corner heading into the Christmas period.
"We have dropped too many points recently," he said."Looking back only two or three weeks ago we were so many points clear and in the goal difference as well. Now both gaps have been closed.
"We need to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later. I think we have played well the last couple of games and on another day three or four may have gone in.
"At times you need to work hard and push for your luck. It's not going to be given to you in life and sometimes you need to make your own if it's not happening for you.
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"We have been a bit unfortunate with a couple of goals we have let in as well. I think overall defensively, midfield and attack, we've not been as good as we should have been. That's because we set our standards so high and started the season so well."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Manchester United and Manchester City are not only battling on the pitch for the Premier League title, but off it they’re also in competition when it comes to signing new players. The player that both halves of Manchester are keeping an eye on is Brazilian Paulo Henrique Ganso, who has put both United and City on alert after an outburst against his current club Santos.
Ganso has been touted as Brazil’s next great hope in the middle of the park, with comparisons already being made with Kaka as he likes to sit in the hole behind the strikers. However, it appears that he is far from happy with the stalling of his contract negotiations that was a result of a knee injury he picked up.
Ganso is quoted in the Daily Mail saying that “nothing has been resolved, there is no signature on the contract. It has been five months and nothing. To not be valued by your club is complicated. Talks were closed because Santos stopped coming to me.’”
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It is clear that the 21-year-old is frustrated by the developments at his club and it could be the opportunity to pounce that both Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini have been waiting for. The delay in signing a new contract incidently is the result of Chelsea’s pursuit of Ganso’s Santos teammate Neymar in the summer, which led to the Brazilian club doing all they could to keep him.
Uzbekistan striker Ulugbek Bakaev made himself a household name in his homeland on Friday, according to manager Vadim Abramov.
The country qualified for the Asian Cup semi-finals for the first time with a 2-1 win over Jordan, and Abramov spoke highly of Bakaev, whose brace of goals sealed a groundbreaking result for his nation.
“I gave him a chance and he scores two goals. He has made history and everybody now knows his name in Uzbekistan,” Abramov said.
“In Uzbekistan, I think everybody is very, very happy because we are going to the next round but I also think that people can see now that Uzbekistan can play good football.”
Bakaev scored twice in the space of three second-half minutes after he was introduced to the game just after the break, and Uzbekistan will face either Australia or Iraq for a spot in the final of Asia’s premier soccer tournament.
Jordan manager Adnan Hamad was proud of his side’s effort to push Uzbekistan all the way in their loss, but was disappointed with the lapse in focus that saw his side concede two quick goals.
“There was very little concentration at the start of the second-half, some players were affected by knocks but this is football. But I’m happy with my team and I believe they have a good future ahead of them,” Hamad said.
“We don’t have an incisive forward with pace. The formation that we had was the best I could put together according to my expectations and we reached the quarter-finals.”
Hamad signalled his intention to remain in the top job with the Jordanian national team for the next three years, as he prepares for bigger and better things for the team.
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“The next stage for us is to prepare for qualification for the World Cup (in Brazil),” he said.
“I have full confidence in my team. My contract expires in April but I’m very happy working with Jordan and the players that have served their country well.”
Sunday’s match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane has set tongues wagging about the disparity of fortune in what fans want from their football – entertainment, high quality, or success. Ideally, supporters of their team would like all three, but it does not always work out like that.
United, for the most part looked jagged in midfield as many of their old guard were often left floundering by the pace in abundance that Tottenham have at their disposal. There were many times that the Red Devil’s midfield were resigned to stand back and let Gareth Bale and co run through for fear of obstructing them and committing a foul, which, on another day, could have had severe consequences for them in the form of goals. This must be a worry for Alex Ferguson and his men, even if they are top of the pile and undefeated. Obviously, they have pace in abundance themselves in players such as Nani and Rafael – the latter who, as we know, did find repercussions in trying to handle the speed of Spurs – but it was left up to Fergie’s back four to make sure that Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart’s surging runs in midfield did not lead to an onslaught on Edwin Van der Sar’s goal. For all the praise attributed to United’s defence, Patrice Evra was often caught napping by Aaron Lennon on the wing leading to Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand having to be at their best in dealing with the inevitable crosses that Lennon would deliver from his trusty right-foot, all of which left little room for direct goalmouth action.
Judging from the first five minutes, it seemed that that was exactly what we were going to get as Bale and Wayne Rooney had shots at goal in quick succession at either end of the pitch, but there were not many throughout the rest of the game considering the attacking options that both sides have at their disposal although Harry Redknapp’s side did sometimes give Vidic and Ferdinand a job to do. Despite the comments about it being a match of high quality I am sure that, unless one is a stickler, obsessed with the art of defending, they would have preferred a ‘Liverpool vs. Newcastle United 4-3 from 1996’ type of game as opposed to the one we witnessed on Sunday.
It was nowhere near as frantic as the north-London side’s’ encounter with the club from the Blue side of Manchester on the opening day of this season, where Harry Redknapp’s team bombarded Manchester City’s goal with shot after shot after shot only for the eventual man-of-the-match, Joe Hart, to disappoint them. And I think that on a whole, that is what fans expect, because even if a match produces no goals, there is still vast room for an enthralling tussle that brings the viewer to the edge-of-their-seat like Spurs’ early season battle with City. In Sunday’s game, the two respective keepers, Heurelho Gomes and Edwin Van Der Sar, had little saves to make, with much of the football being played out near the half-way line, which is the type of football one can sit back and admire rather than being on the verge of jumping for joy or collapsing in despair. It is the not knowing of when and where the next spot of genius, misfortune or lapse of concentration will come from that can change the fortunes of a club in an instance. People are passionate about football and it is the end-to-end goalmouth scrambles that are emotion inducing and that is what a substantial proportion of what football is about – emotion.
This ‘emotion’ can also force one to think the other way in that as long as their team gets the results that bring them affluence, the excitement does not matter for it is the personal bond that that fan feels with its club that matters and the fact that they can hold their head up high when interacting with friends, colleagues etc…because for many supporters it is what they live for and, whether a match is boring to the neutral, it is these factors that create in excitement for fans, end-to-end game or not.
Continued on Page TWO
If that is more important to followers of a club than having lots of nice free-flowing football in the middle of the park, but with nothing or little at the end of it, then Sunday’s game was a good example of that. As I stated earlier, ideally the ‘fan’ would like everything – the great interactive play with lots of goals and success, but it is only rare forces of nature such as the current Barcelona side that can carry off these feats all at once, so it raises the question about what matters about football and what it is or should be; entertainment, quality or from a fan’s point of view, simply the success of the club that he or she follows?
I am sure that the majority of Arsenal fans who were witness to the George Graham era at their club from 1986 to 1995 – one that led to the constant cries of ‘boring, boring Arsenal’ – were not at all fazed by their low scoring games and entertainment value when it yielded two League Cups, two league titles, an FA Cup and a Cup Winners’ Cup. I am sure West Ham fans of the ‘Paolo Di Canio’ era – a side that many mutual supporters referred to as their ‘second team’ – would have swapped their high octane performances for a few trophies. The same sentiment also applies to the marvellous displays constructed by the Newcastle United side of the mid to late 90’s. If fans of the Magpies looked back, one can assume that they would have swapped the way they played in winning a game ‘4-3’ for a style that grinded out a ‘1-0’ if it meant them winning their first league title since 1927, because, at the end of the day, hardly anyone remembers the runners-up in football, for which they were twice, in the Premiership.
Football fans are the nucleus of football; players, however pampered people feel that they have become, still thrive on the reaction of their fans and the adulation that comes with it. For some supporters, it is a day-out for all the family, the talking point for the pub, their life, and for our forbearers who decided to make football into an official sport, it was just basically a bit of fun, which is exactly why the players of yesteryear and today started playing it. Managers and players, first and foremost, want to win so whether they do compete the ‘George Graham’ way or stick to the if-you-score-three-we-will-score-four mantra that Kevin Keegan philosophized at Newcastle; it is the competitiveness that makes football a form of entertainment. Occasionally, there will be matches that do not create as much excitement and tension as others, which the fair-weather supporter will not find as engaging, but it is a matter of taste. A football connoisseur like Andy Gray will see the plus points of a match such as Sunday’s one between United and Spurs, but for the person who lets their partner or friend have their share of the television on a Sunday afternoon, they may have found it all rather tedious.
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Goals are essentially what make a match, whether it is the competitive element shown by the Arsenal side under Graham in stopping them being scored in order to be victorious, or hitting the net however way you can, as exemplified by the attacking football Keegan and Redknapp himself adhere to. The bits of skill that a player such as Van der Vaart displays on the pitch are aligned with outwitting his opponent in order to eventually get to the by-line either by himself or via a team-mate and score a goal that will put his side ahead. Goals, however little, are the be all and end all of football and scoring them and keeping them out is part of the fun in playing and watching it.
So it should be enjoyed for what it is; a sport where athletes try to win by whatever means. The entertainment factor should not be forced upon its competitors because it is there for all to see – it is self explanatory – even if a match has no goals to show for it, and if you do not want to watch or appreciate it, you can either not attend or switch off, just like anything else in this world. The actual game of football does not have a duty to serve anyone because the players and fans, who keep it alive, play and watch it for their own personal reasons, but because it has got so big in terms of money and outside people getting involved, some are trying to turn it into some sort of World Wrestling Entertainment scenario where it is constructed for a certain concept – that concept being ‘entertainment’. But whereas something like WWE is manipulated with storylines and incidents that are written, football is not like that because; as a juggler would juggle something on his own for the fun of it, a footballer would more than likely start exactly the same way, kicking a ball against a wall. It should basically just be a set up of teams playing each other for a prize as it is constructed to be nothing else but that. So leave the responsibility in forcing it to be entertainment to the fiction writers.
Former Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce has hit out at the shock sacking of West Bromwich Albion manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Allardyce – who was sacked himself this season – said West Brom were always going to struggle in the English Premier League this campaign after securing promotion from the Championship.
He attributed their poor results and relegation battle down to a small budget and not Di Matteo’s managerial ability.
“When West Brom came up into the Premier League it was always going to be hard for them to survive. Teams with limited budget will always find times to be tough and results won’t always go your way,” Allardyce told Eurosport.
“Generally, the chairman at West Brom has always been patient even when they’ve been relegated in previous seasons, but this time the club appears to really want to stay in the Premier League.”
“Roberto’s results recently perhaps haven’t been what the club expected, so they have done something that they haven’t done previously by changing the manager to see if they can stay in the Premier League.”
Allardyce stated had the Italian boss not earned the Hawthorns-based club promotion last campaign, he might still have a job.
“I am sure that Roberto will feel confused and dazed as to why this has happened as he was a hero last season getting West Brom promoted. He also had a brilliant start to the new campaign,” he said.
“There is always going to be a bad run which has lasted longer than probably Roberto expected. He has been a victim of his early success, I would probably agree with that.”
A former assistant coach at Albion, the 56-year-old Allardyce did not rule out taking over the struggling club and steering them to safety this term.
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“My management skills are more suited to developing teams to be better than what they were before, and not just about avoiding relegation,” he said.
“My main aim (in coaching) is to finish as high up the top of the Premier League as possible. I have the ability to help teams survive.”
“But I want to aim for the top and position teams higher than people would normally expect them to finish, as when Bolton qualified for Europe and reached cup finals.”
Arsenal will be looking to bring an end to their trophy drought in Sunday’s showpiece at Wembley. Arsene Wenger is hoping that the first piece of silverware will give his side the confidence to go on to win many more and while the Blues are arguably going to make it a difficult game for the Gunners, you would be a brave man to bet against Arsenal picking up the Carling Cup tomorrow.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Arsenal blogs that includes a transfer masterstroke by Wenger; Cesc right to feel cursed, while Barca have no reason to feel aggrieved by Arsenal’s actions.
We also look at the best Arsenal articles around the web this week.
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How ‘Championship Manager’s’ finest fell by the wayside
Another transfer masterstroke by Arsene Wenger?
Compared to United’s set-up, do Arsenal get unwarranted praise?
Criticism of Arsenal DEAL is a little rich in my book
Has Arsenal star every reason to feel cursed?
Are we putting too much pressure on this young duo?
The right move for Connor Wickham?
A Champions League guide to Barcelona for Arsenal fans
The conundrum facing Arsene Wenger
Great Games – Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona
Wenger has £15m striker on his summer shopping list
* Best of Web *
Toral-ably boring story | Arsenal report a loss (GASP!) | Vote on your centre mid! – Le Grove
Alex Song is too slow and doesn’t know where he’s going in London… – Highbury House
He Who Dares Rodney, He Who Dares. – A Cultured Left Foot
Arsenal’s Carling Cup opponents produce Wembley inspiration for fans – Gunnersphere
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This Carling Cup definitely matters – Online Gooner
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Hamilton Academicals inched closer to relegation from the Scottish Premier League following a 2-1 loss at home to Hibernian on Tuesday.Akpo Sodje opened the scoring for visitors Hibs in the 37th minute at New Douglas Park. David Wotherspoon fed on-loan Celtic fullback Richie Towell, who held off an opponent before cutting back for Sodje to slot home from inside the area.Sodje had a hand in the second, drawing two men toward the ball before playing in Wotherspoon, who picked out Derek Riordan. A first-time finish from the Scotland forward made it 2-0 with 15 minutes remaining.Flavio Paixao pulled one back three-and-a-half minutes into stoppage time, but it proved too late for the hosts to mount a comeback. The win lifts Hibs up to eight in the table.Hamilton are now seven points from safety with six matches left to play.Dundee United climbed into the top six with a 2-0 win away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.Substitute Prince Buaben broke the deadlock at the Caledonian Stadium just seconds after coming on for visitors Dundee.Played in by David Goodwillie, the Ghana central midfielder side-footed home from 10 yards out.Irishman Adam Rooney might have equalised for Inverness, but he headed over from Richie Foran’s cross.It was another substitute, David Robertson, who secured the win for Dundee. This time Buaben turned provider, setting up attacking midfielder Robertson to strike home from 18 yards.The win takes Dundee above Inverness and into sixth. They are a point ahead of their beaten hosts and also have three games in hand.
Japan’s national team beat a J-League XI in a charity match in Osaka to raise funds for victims of the country’s natural disaster.Samurai Blue manager Alberto Zaccheroni started Stuttgart striker Shinji Okazaki, who was a victim of an earthquake in his homeland in 1995, and the goal scorer said the match – which Japan won 2-1 – was a chance for him to return assistance that he received when he was in trouble 16 years ago.
“I am alive now because the people around me helped me,” he said, referring to an earthquake that hit near Kobe in 1995.
“This time I want to help people as I experienced it. Today’s game is the first step in giving back.”
Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese club in one of the worst affected areas by the earthquake and tsunami, and Sendai midfielder Kunimitsu Sekiguchi said it was a burden off his shoulders to play for the Japanese people in need.
“It was March 24 when I first touched the ball this season. I couldn’t run enough today but I think it was worth it to play this game,” Sekiguchi said.
Kazuyoshi Miura, a 44-year-old Yokohama midfielder, said he proved critics of his age wrong by scoring in the exhibition match.
“I don’t like to talk about my age but always people ask me about it. I never give up so I wanted to show my heart with a goal,” Kazu said.
The book has the perfect title – The Ghost of White Hart Lane. John White’s nickname always was apt, even before his tragic death at the age of 27. They called him The Ghost because he seemed to glide around the pitch, ghosting into space, never more than 30 yards from the ball. And any time you were in trouble, he was always there for you.
He was one of the greatest players I ever saw, and in many people’s opinion, THE outstanding player of Tottenham’s 1961 double-winning side. When he was killed by lightning in 1964, he left us questioning just how great a player he would have ended up. John also left behind two children, including a baby son, Rob – who has now co-written a book, subtitled In Search of My Father, The Football Legend*.
I spoke to Rob when he was researching the book about the dad he never knew. I told him John White was a sublime footballer, blessed with wonderful touch and awareness as well as a great engine. Before arriving at White Hart Lane, John had been a cross-country runner for the British Army team. When we were sent on gruelling six-mile runs around our Cheshunt training ground, he was so much quicker than the rest of us that he’d showered and got into his car before we’d even finished.
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But unlike a lot of modern players who are athletes first and footballers a distant second, John was a natural playmaker with a great footballing brain. His anticipation was phenomenal and he was an absolute master of the game. Spurs always seem to have players like that – from Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle and Ossie Ardiles, through to Rafa van der Vaart and Luka Modric in the team currently bidding for European glory.
But John was more complete than any of them. He scored 18 goals in the double-winning season and netted in the 1963 Cup-Winners’ Cup final, when Spurs became the first English club to win a European trophy. When he died, it wasn’t the loss of his footballing ability that hit us hardest, it was the fact that he was such a carefree lad, such a damned good laugh.
He and his best mate Cliff Jones were such a handful that our manager Bill Nicholson had to stop them sharing a room. I was told to room with Cliff, while Whitey had to share with my old roomie Terry Dyson. We were in the Grand Hotel in Manchester one match day morning when Whitey burst into the room, dived on top of Cliff, opened the window and started screaming: “Help! Help!” at passers-by down below. A few minutes later, a copper was knocking at our hotel door and asking us if we were in distress – so I had to deny all knowledge of it.
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The day John died, he had been due to play golf with Cliff, who was, as always, late. So Whitey went out and played a few holes on his own at Crews Hill in north London, when the heavens opened and he was struck by lightning while sheltering under a tree. I was out for lunch with my bank manager at the time and the storm was so heavy that when we returned to the Barclays branch in Tottenham High Road they were mopping the water out of the door. When I got home I heard the same storm had killed John.
He died a few weeks before the start of the 1964-65 season and before the big kick-off, Bill Nick asked me if I would take over his No.8 shirt, rather than my usual No.10. I said I’d take it but it was a poignant moment – to go out wearing his shirt when we were all numbed by shock and grief. John’s widow Sandra was the daughter of our assistant manager Harry Evans, so his death had a huge impact on everyone at the club. Yet John certainly packed a lot of living into his 27 years – as his son has been finding out.
* The Ghost of White Hart Lane – In Search Of My Father The Football Legend, by Rob White and Julie Welch, is published by Yellow Jersey Press at £16.99.