Where has the magic gone, Chelsea?

I was wondering what has gone wrong at Stamford Bridge. A year ago, Chelsea was in such imperious form that they swept everyone aside on their way to the premiership title. Now there is an air of despondency at the Bridge. Even Jose Mourinho, for all his tactical and media savvy nous, is not able to find a way around it. So where has the magic gone and can it come back soon enough?

I believe Chelsea got away with a freakish title run last season. Freakish in the sense, Mourinho played with a core group of players for most part of the season including an ageing Terry and Ivanovic. The two played out of their skin but always had Courtois, Matic, Oscar and Willian to cover defensively. Hazard, Fabregas and Costa took care of goals, assists and forthright intimidation and knocked the stuffing out of the opposition. The core group members were rarely injured or suspended for an extended period of time. 

Most of the good work was done in the first part of the season. They stumbled a bit in the latter part of the season but then luck came to their rescue. When Manchester United was within striking distance, Chelsea got the rub of the green in three consecutive matches.

22^nd March 2015 vs Hull – Remy’s shot went in due to Allan McGregor’s mistake.

4^th April 2015 vs Stoke – Remy scored because of a wayward clearance by Asmir Begovic.

12^th April 2015 vs QPR – Fabregas scored after a poor clearance from Robert Green.

Limited transfer activity, long preseason tour and poor form of core group players finally exposed the chinks in Chelsea’s armour this season. It had nothing to do with the farce played out with the doctor or the so called ‘third season syndrome’ experienced by Jose at the clubs he has managed.

In my opinion, it takes only 4 to 5 core group players to be off their game for things to go haywire. When core group players are playing well, they make the ordinary players look good and the unit as a whole unbeatable. This can be inferred from the direct correlation between Manchester City’s performance this season and that of its core group players. When the likes of Hart, Kompany, Toure, Silva, Sterling, Aguero are playing well, they make the likes of Fernandinho, Sagna, Mangala look good too as was evident in the first five matches.

The magic can surely come back, but I am not sure when. It will require astute signings in January and lot of work on the training pitch. The poor start means that there is no chance of Chelsea defending its crown. It will be better for them to pay more attention to the Champions League and domestic cup competitions and just keep reaching the top 4 as a priority. Mourinho is a master at two way cup competitions and can challenge for trophies.

At the end of the season, he has to take decision on Terry, Ivanovic and a few others. Ryan Giggs didn’t start every match in his 30s. Terry and Chelsea fans have to understand that or move on. As a club, Chelsea’s image has also taken a beating due to the shenanigans of Costa and the doctor issue.

Normally when there is no chance of winning silverware, Jose finds or manufactures a way to move out of the club. As someone noted, he is not good when the club is in a transitional phase. During his first stint with Chelsea, he left after losing one season and trailing in the next. He left Porto and Inter for bigger offers and basically fought his way out of Real knowing that he could not get his way there. Wonder what awaits the Chelsea fans who would dearly want him to continue at the club for much longer.

In my opinion, a couple of losses, especially in cup competitions could mean curtains for him by December.  Can he show us another side of him, only time can tell? He is a fine manager Jose, but he still got lot to learn about football. (The Bridge on the River Kwai, huh?).

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The new restructuring puzzle

Did Di Matteo deserve to be sacked after winning Champions League with Chelsea? Did Ancelloti deserve the boot from Real Madrid a year after winning La Decima? No, the exits were untimely and uncalled for to say the least. By winning the greatest prize in club football, they had achieved what the club and its fans were seeking for a long time.  They had justified their employment and should have enjoyed 2-3 years of stability at the club.

However, the same cannot be said for these two gentlemen - Louis Van Gaal and Brendan Rodgers. Not at the moment at least. Another season without silverware and they’ll definitely deserve the sack. Why? These guys have taken team restructuring to an altogether new level. In less than two seasons, they have “bought” themselves a new team of 11 players. In doing so, a lot of money has changed hands and also caused major reshuffle in the squad.

This was not about getting a group of guys ready for a Sunday league match. The clubs wanted a quick fix solution and provided them with a blank cheque book. So instead of performing a minor non-invasive procedure, they went in for major surgery.

Players bought by LVG since taking over – Milinkovic, Herrera, Shaw, Rojo, Di Maria, Blind, Valdes, El Fitouri, Falcao, Depay, Darmian, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Romero. He has in all spent 221 million GBP on players.

Players bought by Rodgers since selling Suarez – Lallana, Lambert, Can, Markovic, Lovren, Origi, Manquillo, Moreno, Balotelli, Gomez, Bogdan, Ings, Milner, Clyne, Firmino, Benteke. Since taking over, he has bought 31 players for 289 million GBP.

Mind you, most of the players mentioned above walked straight into the first team. They were not selected for reserve team action and probable place in the first team. That means that the managers had some role in their mind at the time of purchase, which in some cases never reached fruition.

Gone are the days when minor tinkering was enough to get the squad ready for the next season. Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have made wholesale purchases in the past. However, all they did was add 2 or 3 players to the main team to mount a serious charge across all fronts. Rest of the additions only made the fringe. They knew when to buy and whom to buy and rarely got it wrong.

LVG took a year to understand his existing players. Got rid of a few of them but is still not sure of his best team. The team looks out of rhythm and their play is workmanlike. Instead LVG has been good at deflecting criticism away from himself and putting it on Di Maria not settling well or Van Persie being past his best.

Rodgers made the cardinal sin of not keeping Gerrard at Liverpool. He was an icon at the club like Giggs and Maldini and letting him go was the wrong move. Rodger’s saving grace is that Suarez and Sterling moves have brought in a lot of money and therefore brought the cost down. However, the current lot includes many average players who don’t have it in them to reach top 4.

Manchester United and Liverpool are not just clubs but institutions of English and world football. With 38 league titles between them, the fans and the clubs demand silverware every season. If after two seasons of major purchases the managers have nothing to show for it, then the shortest farewell will be the best. Adieu! (The Maltese Falcon, huh?).

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Glory Glory Man United - Part I

Glory Glory Man United!

That is what we’ve always sought and continue to seek! It is fuelled by an ambition to be ‘Numero Uno’, not just in the UK but also the world. To a certain extent, one can say the ambition has been achieved over the last 25 years or so. With millions of fans all around the world, born and bred on success and footballers playing with a mentality and style that is so uniquely – united!

How it began for me:

Around 20 years ago, I happened to watch a team over consecutive weeks, play some spellbinding football, cut open defences with splitting passes and attack from the flanks. I saw them find a way to win, sometimes through sheer effort and at other times through footballing sorcery. They were led by a magician named Eric Cantona. The team was Manchester United. I was hooked.

A brief history of the last 25 years:

During that glorious period under Fergie, for all the success at the domestic level there were some disappointments in Europe. Except for 92, 99 and a dream spell in the latter part of his reign; we failed to really mix with the big boys. We also began to be outmuscled in our pursuit of talent first by the “Russian Rouble” and then by the “Emirati Dirham”. With economic interests becoming more and more important, we even started acting like a feeder club to the bigger sharks instead of pursuing world class talent ourselves. The retirement of Fergie was an epochal moment. A tough act to follow as Moyes and even Van Gaal found out.

LVG as Manager:

Putting aside all the blame game and finger pointing of the post Fergie and pre LVG era, here is my assessment of the season under the Dutch master.

I don’t know if you’ll concur with this statement but I feel LVG has “fumbled his way” to the current winning formula at united. Any manager worth his salt should not require an entire season to figure out his players and effective playing style. Even the likes of Pulis and Rodgers take less time to sort things out! There has been so much chopping and changing. Trying to fit players into his template rather than create a template based on his players. No wonder once Carrick got injured, the recent run of good results began to go astray.

Injuries are part and parcel of the game. When you are at one of the biggest clubs in the world and challenging for trophies, you need to have quality backup players for each position. LVG knew that very well before taking the job, but has repeatedly used injuries to cover for the bad start to the season and cup disappointments. Not sure if the same card can be played over and over again in his second season.

Another problem has been the slow, almost mechanical build-up play. Opposition teams are more than happy to put men behind the ball and thwart the attack. I wonder if this “style of play” is by design - more to do with keeping possession and less to do with player ability or lethargy. United players, at times, appear scared to play the “telling ball”. They are more worried about losing the ball and inviting the manager’s wrath. We don’t want football being played sideways and back. The stats will look great but it will win us nothing.

I don’t like managers who chirp throughout the 90 minutes like Martinez does. Footballers are not the brightest people around but they can think a bit for themselves. However, every once in a while a manager must let his players know what he thinks about the play. Even Fergie would occasionally come down to the touch line and rant. That is what he gets paid for – man management, motivation and tactics at the right time. LVG just sits there, drinks water and makes notes**.

If you remember, as Barca coach, LVG literally had the entire Dutch team playing for him there. He wasn’t particularly successful. I have the same worry with United. He already has RVP and Blind and at various times has been linked with Vlaar, Strootman, & Depay*. Being a former PE teacher, he is very strict and sometimes finds it easier to train players who have been brought up playing the “total football” way as compared to those brought up playing in England. No wonder he is always looking at the Oranjes.

Liverpool won a lot of trophies in the 70’s and 80’s. I’m not old enough to have seen them play, but what I have heard is that they were very pragmatic in their approach. The current champions under Jose are no different. While it is great to have metrics like possession, corners, free kicks in your favour, the most important thing is to get the football in the opponent’s goal. Champion teams “find a way to fix this problem”. Once you start doing that, it is not difficult to fill the coffers, attract the best talent and build the best stadiums. LVG with his experience knows this all too well.

Irrespective of whether we finish in Champions league spot or not, it has been a season of disappointments. We competed throughout the season but were never in the running, we won a few matches but never dominated and none of our signings set the premier league on fire. Some of the hurried purchases have not clicked, while others have not “jelled” well. A manager of LVG’s reputation and record splashed 150 million and we still feel short-changed. He has to get rid of the chaff and ensure the “pudding” is ready next season.

* Manchester United has agreed to sign Memphis Depay from PSV.
** LVG was finally pitch side in the match vs Crystal Palace with the team at 1-1. Manchester United finally won 1-2.

To be continued in Part II….. Glory Glory Man United - Part II

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Glory Glory Man United - Part II

Glory Glory Man United! (Part II)

Continuing from …  Glory Glory Man United - Part I

Player assessment (in alphabetical order):

Blackett – He is a young defender with good prospects. Although he made some silly errors in his first few games, he will make a good squad player.

Blind – Impressive at the world cup. He can play in multiple positions and “do a job”. Add some steel next to him and he will be a different player altogether.

Carrick – He is top player with good range of passing. I would like to see him play more freely. Much like Blind, he would prefer a solid player next to him.

De Gea – Been the best player over the last couple of years. Made lot of pundits eat humble pie. It is strange to see him being linked with Real considering his Atletico connections. If we want to challenge for top honours and show intent, we need to keep him.

Di Maria – ADM has puzzled me. He is more of a creator than a natural finisher. I think he has been played out of position. If we build our attack around him, it could lead to a goal fest next season.

Evans – He was a good fringe player with Rio and Vidic in the team. He has the odd mistake in him especially in big matches. I think his days are numbered in our team. He will be shipped out like 

O’Shea and Brown.

Falcao – It has not worked out for him and I don’t see us making the deal permanent. I don’t doubt his quality, maybe he will take another season to come back to full fitness. Maybe a smaller club with limited ambitions will be a good career move for him.

Fellaini – I always thought he was a good option to have in the team due to his height and hold up play. There is no right or wrong way to play football. If necessary we can always go long to him. His propensity to be clumsy and give away needless fouls irritates the life out of me.

Herrera – He has been an impressive signing. He is very solid with his tackles and work rate. He also has goals in him. How LVG rotates ADM, Herrera, Januzaj, Mata will be interesting to see?

Januzaj – He has regressed this season. I found him to be very selfish in and around the box. He can earn that right when he is at the same level as Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Robben or Suarez which he is currently not. Not sure where his mind is because he tries to do too much on the flanks and does not always take the right option. Still very young and can be developed.

Jones – The problem with Jones is that he always sees the danger a fraction late and appears “desperate and clumsy” with his tackles. The sad part is that it leads to booking and injuries. With the wealth of talent in the team, I don’t see him playing in midfield. He could be the next casualty after Evans.

Mata – When Mata has played, he has looked good. He is brilliant with the ball at his feet, but not without it. When Chelsea sold him, I thought it was going to be the “Cantona moment with Leeds”. One knows how good Schnederlein is when Wanyama does the dirty work for him. One knows how brilliant Fabregas is when Matic takes care of opposition runners. Let’s see who LVG brings to Old Trafford and that will determine Mata’s fate.

McNair – He is another impressive youngster and we should give credit LVG for bringing him into the first team. Sure to play more games in the future.

Rojo – He has looked shaky at times and other times very solid. Not the most convincing of signings. He has played World Cup, so cannot doubt his ability. Maybe he can turn in solid performances in his second year.

Rooney – One really cannot fault him. He did a job in midfield and now he is banging in the goals as a striker. I think it is best he stays up front for us.

Shaw – The most disappointing signing so far. I have not seen the speed or the output in terms of crossing ability. He gets injured so very often. A big question mark and a defining season coming up for him.

Smalling – The best defender we have at the moment. He has all the skills to be a leader and is good with the ball at his feet. A future captain if he keeps his head in the right place.

Valencia – He is probably the second most improved player. I think as a player he is a manager’s dream. He is like Ivanovic from Chelsea - ready to run through brick walls for the team. Ready to do any job asked of him.  My only advice would be to attack a bit more from the flanks.

Van Persie – World cup and injuries means a troubled season for Robin. I will give him another year, nothing more nothing less. See if he can team up with Rooney and recreate some magic like before.

Wilson – He runs all day and is a consummate finisher. If Rooney, RVP stay and we bring another 20 goal striker then he can be a good back up for domestic competitions.

Young – He is the most improved player under LVG. I thought his career was over for he had become a shadow of the Watford player a decade earlier. His work rate and ability fits perfectly into LVG’s plans and I can see him get better.

The rest:

Rafael, Amos, Valdes, Pereira and others have not played at all or played very little in the first team for me to comment.

Other notable mentions:

Hernandez – Why would anybody want to sell Chicharito? He may not be the most gifted player, but knows his way in and around the box. The guy is in the top ten strikers of premier league in terms of minutes to goal ratio. He is someone who can get a goal out of nothing. He was and is a good alternative on the bench, quiet and unassuming; unlike a Mancunian we sold to a London club.

Nani – Is he a spent force? Can we take his form of Portuguese league seriously? Yes and No respectively. There are some players who look very good in great teams. Take him out of the team and he is shadow of his former self. Evra was another case. He looked world class when he had CR7 to terrorise defenders in front of him. Once CR7 left for los blancos, we started seeing chinks in his defence.

Pogba – The kid looks the real deal. If Jose can buy back Matic from Benfica, why not us? Surely there will a hefty price to pay, but he could be the steel our midfield is missing.

Wishlist – Solid (Thiago) Silva, Rolls Royce Raphael (Varane), The beast (Christian) Benteke, Strong (Kevin) Strootman, Powerful (Paul) Pogba.

I’d like to believe that as fans of Manchester United, we are different from the rest. We are more patient with our players and manager; we have tremendous faith in the club. Above all, we have hope. Hope that the glory days will return to the Theatre of Dreams. Remember, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies (The Shawshank Redemption, huh?).

What do you think of my assessment of LVG and the players? Feel free to comment.

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End of season blues

I recently joined fplbet.com as a columnist. I will be writing an exclusive column for them in addition to my weekly blog.

Here is my debut article outlining the various options available to FPL managers at this stage of the season:

http://fplbet.com/end-of-season-blues-fantasy-premier-league-tips/

Please leave your comments.




Next article - The verdict on Guardiola

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The verdict on Guardiola

An article on Guardiola has been at the back of my mind for a while now. It gathered momentum after the first leg of the Champions League quarter final match between Bayern Munich and Porto. The dramatic events of the two legs have had no bearing on my opinion of Pep or this article itself.

Let’s first discuss Guardiola the player. For young readers who didn’t get to see Pep play, he was a decent player who played as defensive midfielder for Barcelona and few other clubs. He soon became the identity of the club, much like Puyol or Terry (for Chelsea) later. He was the local kid who came up through the ranks, the Catalan who played alongside some of the greats like Romario, Laudrup, Stoichkov, Koeman, etc.

In recent years, we have heard, in glowing terms, of Guardiola the manager. A glittering four years at Barcelona with 13 trophies in the cabinet including 2 Champions League. He is a good manager, make no mistake about it, but is he a great manager? No. I believe he is the most overhyped manager in recent times.

First of all, he was manager of a Barcelona team which can be considered “the greatest” not only in the club’s history but also in comparison to any club side of the last 100 years. Let’s face it; he didn’t win the Champions League with Nottingham Forest or Red Star Belgrade or Porto.

Secondly, he didn’t invent “Tiki Taka” style of playing. He didn’t sign the Argentinian wunderkid as a 13 year old. He didn’t build this team, he inherited it. Most of the ground work was already in place even before he took over the mantle. Rijkaard had already got them playing mesmerizing football with Ronaldinho, Messi, Xavi, Giuly, Henry. Pep made a few cosmetic changes and voila it was magic!

Peter Fleming once remarked about his astonishing doubles partner “… John Mcenroe and anyone”. Much like that, with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Yaya, Puyol, Valdes in the team, “anyone” could have managed the team to similar or even greater success.

He was at the right place at the right time. Once he knew that the team had run out of steam and not much was coming out of La Masia, he quit. The newspapers saw a great story about him suffering “burn out” (of what? Success). Subsequently Barca brought the chequebook out and signed Neymar and Suarez. 

After a yearlong sabbatical, the opportunistic beast that is Guardiola, turned up at Bayern where Jupp Heynckes already had a cracking team in place and the wealth/clout/history to pillage star players from rival Bundesliga teams. Now the "magician" is leading the charge on all fronts!

Another article mentioned that Guardiola has reached Champions League semi-finals in all 6 years as a coach. Wow! Wouldn’t it have been so incredible if he had done all that as manager of Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund instead of Barcelona and Bayern Munich?

The jury is still out on Pep. He is a modern manager with an eye for personal success on his CV. He does not have the time to build a dynasty a-la Ferguson, Clough or Wenger. I am certain that he will see out his contract at Bayern and move on to greener pastures. It is only a matter of time before someone makes him an offer he can’t refuse (The Godfather, huh?)

What’s your verdict on Pep? Would love to hear from you.


Next Article - The Differential overdrive

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The Differential overdrive

The concept of a differential and its usage are not new, even in fantasy footballing parlance. The term has been copiously overused this season by fantasy football pundits and managers alike. I have been hearing it week after week on blogs and podcasts. Differential is almost in vogue. To the extent, that not using one is akin to “missing out”.

Is differential all that important? If I don’t use it, will I freefall into the fantasy football abyss?

Differential, to me, reflects a sign of managerial incoherence and desperation. It invariably means your ranking is in a state of limbo. Neither up nor down. So you are ready to put all your hopes (and fantasies) on “hot picks” suggested by some geeky number crunching FFF (‘Fantasy Football Fan’ like me) or go with your “gut instinct” on some freaky no good player with close to zero ownership believing that he will give you the much need impetus up the fantasy football ladder.

A fantasy football team should be based around players who guarantee returns on full season basis. Each player has his ups and downs during a season. The only question that needs to be asked: Will your chosen star shine the brightest come the end of May?

In my honest opinion it is best to stay away from differential/s. In a 4 week cycle, a differential will very rarely give you more returns than a player with high ownership. The reasoning behind high ownership is that the player has some class and form which the differential does not have.

Changing your differential each week means wasting your weekly free transfer for little or no obvious gain. Leave “match to match” tinkering and blind faith induced punting to others.

Is it worth going for a differential and thereby missing out on a big player? No way. At various stages of the season, Costa, Kane and Aguero have been in great form scoring all sorts of goals. It would be plain stupidity to even look past these three (or even two) at any given point of time.

Have more than one differential in the playing eleven? Now that’s a death wish. Load too many differentials and see your stocks plummet. You can include a couple on the sub bench to give you an occasional blip on your otherwise downward trajectory (Trainspotting, huh?).

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