Alright this is a bit overdue but exams came in the way. With holidays now in full swing, expect a lot more analysis.
Moving back to Euro 08 groups, there wasn't much to say about Group C. Romania vs France was everything football should not be. Boring, insipid, lacklustre, sleep inducing. The final score of 0-0 flattered no one. Romania would have taken a point before the game but it was very disappointing to see the French lacking such creativity. Even Franck Ribery put in a sub-par performance, almost unrecognisable from the man who has carried Bayern Munich on his shoulders all season. Meanwhile the sheer brilliance of Holland's fantastic 3-0 win over Italy was plain to see for all. Not much to say there. Anyone who saw the game will agree that Holland were fantastic. 3-0 may not have reflected how close the game actually was but there was no doubt Holland fully deserved their victory.
Group D turned out as expected in the first round, with Spain beating the Russians 4-1. Pure class from David Villa. That's all that needs to be mentioned really. Fernando Torres may have played his part but he was overshadowed by Villa on the night and rightly so. Sweden may have been heading for a draw until Ibrahimovic and Larsson combined beautifully on the edge of the area and Ibrahimovic lashed home a sensational goal into the top corner. Greece were never really expected to come anywhere close to repeating their success from 4 years ago despite being ranked 8th in the FIFA rankings (big joke that they are), and they fully justified that view against Sweden.
And on to the next round of play. In Group A, Portugal played a great game against the Czech Republic who improved massively from their dismal showing against Switzerland in the tournament opener. However despite the Czechs resilience, Portugal's class shone through, with Cristiano Ronaldo playing a part in all 3 of their goals. He may have his critics about not playing to his best on the biggest stage but a player as good as him can't play below par every single time. His pass for Ricardo Quaresma to tap in in injury time proved how mature he has become. You'd expect Ronaldo to shoot anytime he gets a sight of goal, let alone a one on one, but he saw Quaresma and unselfishly squared the ball for his teammate. Surely a sign of maturity and indicates that there is a lot more to come from Ronaldo in the tournament. Meanwhile, Switzerland's loss against against Turkey was another example of their poor finishing letting them down. Only this time it eliminated them, becoming only the second host nation to not qualify for the knockout stages. Luck may not have been on their side but tat does not change the fact that they are now out of the tournament.
Group B had the neutrals on their feet applauding Croatia, who sensationally beat Germany 2-1. Although there was an element of luck about both of Croatia's goals, they deserved it for the way they took the game to the Germans and played them off the park. Had Croatia not gotten those lucky breaks, we would be talking about missed chances, lack of creativity and cutting edge. Fully deserved result for them however and Slaven Bilic proved to be an animated characted on the touchline and the win will have elevated him even higher in the eyes of Croatia. Lukas Podolski also managed to add to his goal tally in a losing effort and his well taken goal will only have more of Europe trying to lure him away from Bayern. He may well try his luck elsewhere as Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose seem to be perfect for each other while Podolski struggles for a look in. I didn't catch Austria vs Poland to make much comment about the game. The only thing I saw from the highlights were the obvious talking points of Roger's controversial offside goal for the Poles and Ivica Vastic's controversial penalty for the Austrians. At any rate it gives both sides a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals. As unlikely as it seems, an Austrian victory over Germany will most likely see them through and would rank as their greatest footballing achievement in my opinion. They've had great teams in the past and should they pull of such a feat with the current squad they have, it would be nothing less than their greatest feat.
Euro 08 is warming up nicely after the first round and it's good to see less clean sheets and more goals in the games. As a neutral, I can only hope for the trend to continue.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Group A + B
Group A and B have just concluded their first round of play and already a clear pattern is being drawn. The favourites have won each match so far with a clean sheet. The underdogs have performed admirably but a lack of quality has proved to be their downfall. However there has been one outstanding match and two rather dismal performances.
The curtain raiser between the Czechs and the Swiss was not pretty to watch. Quality was alarmingly absent from play for large periods of time. Only in the second half did the Swiss create some clear cut chances but their profligacy in front of goal ultimately cost them the match. Portugal vs Turkey was a much better affair and despite the resilience of the Turks, Portugal's class shone through at the end. Deco and Ronaldo looked lively and were involved in Portugal's best moves. Nuno Gomes was rather unlucky not to have scored twice, in a game where Portugal were denied by the frame of the goal thrice.
Austria vs Croatia was another match lacking quality. Austria managed to dominate the favourites in spells and were left ruing how they did not manage to get at least a point from the encounter. However, it does give them hope for the coming matches against Poland and Germany. Thousands of Austrians had signed a petition requesting that their team withdraw from Euro 08 so as not to embarrass themselves. Based on last night's performance, there is a sense of optimism within Austria now. Germany vs Poland has been the outstanding match of the Euros so far. The Germans were rewarded for their performance with a convincing win and it could have been more had Mario Gomez put away Miroslav Klose's unselfish pass. Poland did match Germany at times and had a few decent chances fashioned by their neat passing moves but two smart finishes from Lukas Podolski proved to be the difference. His second goal was a combination of quick thinking and deadly finishing, Klose's badly miscued shot expertly volleyed home.
The favourites have made their mark early and it looks like being a straightforward qualification process for them in Group A and B. Hopefully, Group C and D can provide a bit more uncertainty than that.
The curtain raiser between the Czechs and the Swiss was not pretty to watch. Quality was alarmingly absent from play for large periods of time. Only in the second half did the Swiss create some clear cut chances but their profligacy in front of goal ultimately cost them the match. Portugal vs Turkey was a much better affair and despite the resilience of the Turks, Portugal's class shone through at the end. Deco and Ronaldo looked lively and were involved in Portugal's best moves. Nuno Gomes was rather unlucky not to have scored twice, in a game where Portugal were denied by the frame of the goal thrice.
Austria vs Croatia was another match lacking quality. Austria managed to dominate the favourites in spells and were left ruing how they did not manage to get at least a point from the encounter. However, it does give them hope for the coming matches against Poland and Germany. Thousands of Austrians had signed a petition requesting that their team withdraw from Euro 08 so as not to embarrass themselves. Based on last night's performance, there is a sense of optimism within Austria now. Germany vs Poland has been the outstanding match of the Euros so far. The Germans were rewarded for their performance with a convincing win and it could have been more had Mario Gomez put away Miroslav Klose's unselfish pass. Poland did match Germany at times and had a few decent chances fashioned by their neat passing moves but two smart finishes from Lukas Podolski proved to be the difference. His second goal was a combination of quick thinking and deadly finishing, Klose's badly miscued shot expertly volleyed home.
The favourites have made their mark early and it looks like being a straightforward qualification process for them in Group A and B. Hopefully, Group C and D can provide a bit more uncertainty than that.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
It's here!
4 years of waiting has finally ended. Euro 2008 is about to begin. 16 countries will battle it out to determine Europe's finest team.
I'm not going to make any predictions. I'm only interested in the underdogs at these tournaments. They provide the sensational stories and create the biggest shocks, which for me is what major tournaments are all about. The further they go, the more interest is sustained in the tournament. Even neutrals get sucked in by the atmosphere and spectacle which only underdogs can create.
It's a unique experience and I've witnessed two unbelievable stories between 2004 and now. Greece were the last winners of the Euros and Iraq pulled off a similarly astonishing feat by winning the Asian Cup. These teams managed to go all the way and stunned the millions watching them. A rare feat, but one which creates the ultimate football tale. I've been fortunate to have seen two such stories. Those slightly older than me may have witnessed Denmark's Euro 92 triumph.
The point I'm trying to put across is that for those who have no connections to the participating nations, why support the big teams? All the big teams are almost guaranteed to win each and every time. What's the fun in that? It's much more interesting watching a smaller team worry one of the big ones. I've seen Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese supporters etc. But no one seems to be pulling for the small teams. Why worry so much about winning when you're not even connected to the country you support in the slightest? Isn't the football on show meant to be what we're watching? It's quite amusing watching a Chinese man getting annoyed at a referee because Luca Toni is denied a penalty. Or an Indian celebrating wildly, waving his shirt in the air because Franck Ribery scored for the French. Sure I support a club team, but they've become global entities. The various nationalities within clubs allows for such passion. However, I'm not so convinced about mixing noodles with pizza or dhal with baguettes.
I'll be watching Euro 2008 with great interest. I don't support any team because I'm not affiliated with them in any way. But you can be sure I will be following the progress of the smaller teams very closely.
I'm not going to make any predictions. I'm only interested in the underdogs at these tournaments. They provide the sensational stories and create the biggest shocks, which for me is what major tournaments are all about. The further they go, the more interest is sustained in the tournament. Even neutrals get sucked in by the atmosphere and spectacle which only underdogs can create.
It's a unique experience and I've witnessed two unbelievable stories between 2004 and now. Greece were the last winners of the Euros and Iraq pulled off a similarly astonishing feat by winning the Asian Cup. These teams managed to go all the way and stunned the millions watching them. A rare feat, but one which creates the ultimate football tale. I've been fortunate to have seen two such stories. Those slightly older than me may have witnessed Denmark's Euro 92 triumph.
The point I'm trying to put across is that for those who have no connections to the participating nations, why support the big teams? All the big teams are almost guaranteed to win each and every time. What's the fun in that? It's much more interesting watching a smaller team worry one of the big ones. I've seen Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese supporters etc. But no one seems to be pulling for the small teams. Why worry so much about winning when you're not even connected to the country you support in the slightest? Isn't the football on show meant to be what we're watching? It's quite amusing watching a Chinese man getting annoyed at a referee because Luca Toni is denied a penalty. Or an Indian celebrating wildly, waving his shirt in the air because Franck Ribery scored for the French. Sure I support a club team, but they've become global entities. The various nationalities within clubs allows for such passion. However, I'm not so convinced about mixing noodles with pizza or dhal with baguettes.
I'll be watching Euro 2008 with great interest. I don't support any team because I'm not affiliated with them in any way. But you can be sure I will be following the progress of the smaller teams very closely.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Manager mention and others
All this talk of managers. Isn't there the Euros to focus on? Well it would be appropriate to talk about at least one high profile move. Mark Hughes has just taken over at Man City and has already started talking about making them a force in England and Europe. His transfer budget is a key factor for him as he was always restricted by the tight budget at Blackburn. However, if his eye for cheap talent is anything to go by, he will use his summer funds wisely. Roque Santa Cruz and Morten Gamst Pedersen are just two of the bargains he pulled off in the transfer market. Large transfer kitties don't guarantee success, but you get the feeling Hughes will know how to use the money.
Names such as Ronaldinho and Jo are being bandied about by the media and my guess is that Hughes wouldn't mind those two at his club in the slightest. The undoubted quality of the two would be a boost for a squad full of talent but not enough to challenge at the highest level. Whereas many may think Ronaldinho's powers are on the wane, I believe that he has what it takes to succeed in the Premiership if he applies himself. His skills are undoubtedly still with him; you don't lose such skills in a single season. His brain is also capable of handling the high tempo game of the Premiership and although his strength is not of Drogba proportions, he certainly has enough to survive in the league. All he needs is his hunger and if his brother's claims are true, Ronaldinho may be lighting up the Premiership next season, should he move to City of course.
Hughes certainly has talked the talk. Let's now see if he can walk the walk.
Moving on to more pressing matters, Xavi scored a brilliant goal for Spain against USA in last night's friendly. Their lacklustre performance merely highlighted how they can change a game with one moment of magic, such is the quality of their squad. They missed chances, looked shaky at times but a brilliant piece of skill was what separated them from their opponents. Spain look like clear favourites for the Euros but they have the heavy burden of constant failure in major tournaments on their shoulders. Whether they will step up and prove everyone's predictions right is yet to be seen but success or failure would not surprise anyone.
Talking about favourites for the Euros is quite pointless as all the strong nations are hard to separate and any one of them could win it if they hit some form. The more interesting part of the Euros are the smaller nations looking to cause a shock or two. Croatia and Russia are two names that immediately spring to mind. You'll probably see these two names mentioned as darkhorses on every other site and I would agree with Croatia. Croatia may have lost Eduardo but Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar are class midfielders and are key to Croatia's hope. They also topped their group in qualification and played some brilliant football at times, knocking England out in the process. Russia may have been touted as darkhorses but the loss of two of their key players raises doubts in my mind. Pavel Pogrebnyak is a major doubt for the tournament and is only rated at 50-50 by Guus Hiddink to feature at all. Meanwhile, Andrei Arshavin is suspended for the first two games and by this time Russia may have already been knocked out. Russia have other players worthy of mention such as Bystrov, Bilyaletdinov and Zyrianov but the loss of the main two will severely dent their hopes. They may prove me wrong but that's why I watch football. Nothing better than an underdog giving the favourites a real challenge.
Names such as Ronaldinho and Jo are being bandied about by the media and my guess is that Hughes wouldn't mind those two at his club in the slightest. The undoubted quality of the two would be a boost for a squad full of talent but not enough to challenge at the highest level. Whereas many may think Ronaldinho's powers are on the wane, I believe that he has what it takes to succeed in the Premiership if he applies himself. His skills are undoubtedly still with him; you don't lose such skills in a single season. His brain is also capable of handling the high tempo game of the Premiership and although his strength is not of Drogba proportions, he certainly has enough to survive in the league. All he needs is his hunger and if his brother's claims are true, Ronaldinho may be lighting up the Premiership next season, should he move to City of course.
Hughes certainly has talked the talk. Let's now see if he can walk the walk.
Moving on to more pressing matters, Xavi scored a brilliant goal for Spain against USA in last night's friendly. Their lacklustre performance merely highlighted how they can change a game with one moment of magic, such is the quality of their squad. They missed chances, looked shaky at times but a brilliant piece of skill was what separated them from their opponents. Spain look like clear favourites for the Euros but they have the heavy burden of constant failure in major tournaments on their shoulders. Whether they will step up and prove everyone's predictions right is yet to be seen but success or failure would not surprise anyone.
Talking about favourites for the Euros is quite pointless as all the strong nations are hard to separate and any one of them could win it if they hit some form. The more interesting part of the Euros are the smaller nations looking to cause a shock or two. Croatia and Russia are two names that immediately spring to mind. You'll probably see these two names mentioned as darkhorses on every other site and I would agree with Croatia. Croatia may have lost Eduardo but Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar are class midfielders and are key to Croatia's hope. They also topped their group in qualification and played some brilliant football at times, knocking England out in the process. Russia may have been touted as darkhorses but the loss of two of their key players raises doubts in my mind. Pavel Pogrebnyak is a major doubt for the tournament and is only rated at 50-50 by Guus Hiddink to feature at all. Meanwhile, Andrei Arshavin is suspended for the first two games and by this time Russia may have already been knocked out. Russia have other players worthy of mention such as Bystrov, Bilyaletdinov and Zyrianov but the loss of the main two will severely dent their hopes. They may prove me wrong but that's why I watch football. Nothing better than an underdog giving the favourites a real challenge.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Miss you Sven you're gone.
Thaksin Shinawatra has no shame. Sacking Sven. He didn't exactly get them into a relegation dogfight did he? He's achieved more in one season than many others had in five. He commands his players' respect, the fans' adulation and yet Thaksin seems to think that Manchester City is Thailand and he's still Prime Minister. He even had the nerve to ask Eriksson to accompany City on their tour to Thailand. Being the gentlemen that he is, he obliged but you can't help but wonder what compelled him to do so.
City played some brilliant football this season (acknowledgement from a Man Utd fan) and even managed to do the double over their derby rivals. They've had their shaky moments and embarrassing moments but ask any Man City supporter if they support Thaksin's decision. The answer is very likely to be a resounding no.
Apparently all billionaire football owners don't seem to understand that a winning team can't be built in a day. If Chelsea can't build a winning team in a season, what makes Thaksin think he can take City to that level in that period of time. He appeared to have a reasonable plan in shape when he first took over, giving Eriksson the goal of establishing City in the top half of the table. He did just that and managed to sneak them into Europe via the Fair Play League. And got sacked for it. It's baffling. Nonsensical. Brash. Idiotic. Almost any negative term can be applied to these rich owners who think they're playing Football Manager. Only it costs several hundred million pounds to play and in this world there are no saves and retries.
Unless City replace Eriksson with a manager of similar stature and bring in a few decent players, you can't see them progressing much further. Their current struggle to hold on to their best players may yet come back to haunt them. If the players have no motivation and desire to take the club to the next level, no amount of money Thaksin puts in can drag them there.
Moral of the story - patience is a virtue. Brashness only brings on the wrath of the fans and the ridicule of others. Thaksin got kicked out of Thailand. A few more brash decisions and he may get himself kicked out of Manchester as well.
City played some brilliant football this season (acknowledgement from a Man Utd fan) and even managed to do the double over their derby rivals. They've had their shaky moments and embarrassing moments but ask any Man City supporter if they support Thaksin's decision. The answer is very likely to be a resounding no.
Apparently all billionaire football owners don't seem to understand that a winning team can't be built in a day. If Chelsea can't build a winning team in a season, what makes Thaksin think he can take City to that level in that period of time. He appeared to have a reasonable plan in shape when he first took over, giving Eriksson the goal of establishing City in the top half of the table. He did just that and managed to sneak them into Europe via the Fair Play League. And got sacked for it. It's baffling. Nonsensical. Brash. Idiotic. Almost any negative term can be applied to these rich owners who think they're playing Football Manager. Only it costs several hundred million pounds to play and in this world there are no saves and retries.
Unless City replace Eriksson with a manager of similar stature and bring in a few decent players, you can't see them progressing much further. Their current struggle to hold on to their best players may yet come back to haunt them. If the players have no motivation and desire to take the club to the next level, no amount of money Thaksin puts in can drag them there.
Moral of the story - patience is a virtue. Brashness only brings on the wrath of the fans and the ridicule of others. Thaksin got kicked out of Thailand. A few more brash decisions and he may get himself kicked out of Manchester as well.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Are you ready for Mour?
God have mercy on the rest of the football world! Inter have got themselves the Special One. As if having won 3 consecutive Scudettos wasn't enough! You can almost imagine the press conference tomorrow. Mourinho waxing lyrical about himself. In Italian. He may not quite be fluent but you can be almost certain that he has been learning the language in preparation for this move. It's been an open secret for sometime now but the sacking of Roberto Mancini merely confirmed it.
Looking back at his managerial record, the one thing that stands out is his man management ability. Under his guidance, Porto became the best team in Europe, Chelsea won their first league titles in 50 years and players such as Carvalho, J. Cole and Drogba have flourished into genuinely good players (you can't really label J. Cole as world class). The key point of note here is that he transformed teams who have not tasted success and gave them the confidence to achieve it on the biggest stages of the game, in full view of the public eye.
You can only wonder what he will do to a team of proven winners! Fresh from winning their 3rd league title in a row, the appointment of Mourinho will ensure that they start next season as one of the favourites for the Champions League. And he's already been linked with his former players at Chelsea, notably Lampard, Drogba and Essien. Armed with funds, a team of winners and a few additions to the playing squad and the rest of Europe will be quaking in their boots come next season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has often been accused of not performing in the big games. Inter's encounter with Liverpool in the Champions League last 16 this season added fuel to the critics' fire. However, now that Mourinho has taken the hotseat, you can expect Ibrahimovic to set Europe alight next season. It would not be surprising in the slightest, such is the reputation Mourinho has built up for himself. His ability to bring the best out of his players has been the one constant of his managerial career. Add the return of Adriano from his loan spell at Sao Paulo and you have possibly the most potent striking partnership in world football. Should one of them fail to perform, he will have a very able deputy in Hernan Crespo. The Argentine is a proven hitman in the slow-paced environment of Serie A and could easily replace any of the two. A reasonable defence and a creative midfield ensure that on paper, Inter are bound to be one of the most entertaining teams to watch next season.
However, there is always two sides to a story and for all the hype and expectation surrounding Mourinho's arrival, we may yet end up watching an Italian version of Chelsea. Yes, just imagine that. Outrageously talented players such as Ibrahimovic, Stankovic and Adriano wasted to accomodate Mourinho's notoriously careful tactics. Italian football is already defensive enough and Mourinho's containing tactics may only serve up another reason why Italian football is only watched by defenders and blind men. His entire backroom team that worked under him at Porto and Chelsea will also join him in Italy. Further proof that negative tactics may be a staple at the San Siro next season. He'll get results for Inter but it may not be bad advice to follow their progress via newspapers and websites as opposed to wasting 90 perfectly good minutes watching long balls.
Mourinho has also been known for his impatience with players who underperform and constantly live the high life. The Emperor is well known for his party lifestyle (typically Brazilian) and may cross Mourinho on more than one occasion. Whether he will toe the line is yet to be seen, but it would not be the greatest surprise in the world. Adriano could easily be sent packing next season but if he performs to the standard he is capable of, our eyes will be the winners.
You can't help but wonder if Mourinho has made a wise career choice. Inter have just sacked their most successful manager in recent times. Shades of Chelsea. The impression is that 1 trophy will not be enough for Mourinho. Then again it's not enough at most top clubs these days anyways. Whatever happens, all eyes will be on Inter next season. All the best to him. He's just one of those people you love to hate.
Looking back at his managerial record, the one thing that stands out is his man management ability. Under his guidance, Porto became the best team in Europe, Chelsea won their first league titles in 50 years and players such as Carvalho, J. Cole and Drogba have flourished into genuinely good players (you can't really label J. Cole as world class). The key point of note here is that he transformed teams who have not tasted success and gave them the confidence to achieve it on the biggest stages of the game, in full view of the public eye.
You can only wonder what he will do to a team of proven winners! Fresh from winning their 3rd league title in a row, the appointment of Mourinho will ensure that they start next season as one of the favourites for the Champions League. And he's already been linked with his former players at Chelsea, notably Lampard, Drogba and Essien. Armed with funds, a team of winners and a few additions to the playing squad and the rest of Europe will be quaking in their boots come next season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has often been accused of not performing in the big games. Inter's encounter with Liverpool in the Champions League last 16 this season added fuel to the critics' fire. However, now that Mourinho has taken the hotseat, you can expect Ibrahimovic to set Europe alight next season. It would not be surprising in the slightest, such is the reputation Mourinho has built up for himself. His ability to bring the best out of his players has been the one constant of his managerial career. Add the return of Adriano from his loan spell at Sao Paulo and you have possibly the most potent striking partnership in world football. Should one of them fail to perform, he will have a very able deputy in Hernan Crespo. The Argentine is a proven hitman in the slow-paced environment of Serie A and could easily replace any of the two. A reasonable defence and a creative midfield ensure that on paper, Inter are bound to be one of the most entertaining teams to watch next season.
However, there is always two sides to a story and for all the hype and expectation surrounding Mourinho's arrival, we may yet end up watching an Italian version of Chelsea. Yes, just imagine that. Outrageously talented players such as Ibrahimovic, Stankovic and Adriano wasted to accomodate Mourinho's notoriously careful tactics. Italian football is already defensive enough and Mourinho's containing tactics may only serve up another reason why Italian football is only watched by defenders and blind men. His entire backroom team that worked under him at Porto and Chelsea will also join him in Italy. Further proof that negative tactics may be a staple at the San Siro next season. He'll get results for Inter but it may not be bad advice to follow their progress via newspapers and websites as opposed to wasting 90 perfectly good minutes watching long balls.
Mourinho has also been known for his impatience with players who underperform and constantly live the high life. The Emperor is well known for his party lifestyle (typically Brazilian) and may cross Mourinho on more than one occasion. Whether he will toe the line is yet to be seen, but it would not be the greatest surprise in the world. Adriano could easily be sent packing next season but if he performs to the standard he is capable of, our eyes will be the winners.
You can't help but wonder if Mourinho has made a wise career choice. Inter have just sacked their most successful manager in recent times. Shades of Chelsea. The impression is that 1 trophy will not be enough for Mourinho. Then again it's not enough at most top clubs these days anyways. Whatever happens, all eyes will be on Inter next season. All the best to him. He's just one of those people you love to hate.
It's that time of year again!
No the Euros only happen once every 4 years. The post season period gives papers a lot of space to fill where match reports and analysis are the norm. The usual lack of football for 3 months or so ensures that papers are constantly on the lookout for a "scoop".
Check out some of today's "top stories". To give these stories a sense of realism, papers have to "realistically" adjust their creative talents to truly reflect feasible possibilities with regards to players. Take Arsenal for example. Nothing strange going on there with their supposed interest in Piotr Trochowski. Wenger's keen eye for unknown talent at its best! And to think that people put up with 3 months of this rubbish every year. If I wanted to read fiction in the papers, I would be at the comics section. Thank God for the Euros! At least the rubbish will be diluted by the presence of some real football news.
Nonetheless you can still expect one story that will not lay low this summer. Chelsea's odyssey to find their new manager will dominate the sports section until they eventually find him! Hiddink, Rijkaard, Mancini, Hughes, even Eriksson gets a mention! Abramovich's riches will have to do a lot of the talking if he is going to entice a top notch manager to the club. If you can sack the Special One and his successor who nearly won 3 trophies in a season, you must be a real emo! Abramovich has probably been listening to too much Simple Plan! Wonders why his club is not perfect and why all this had to happen to him. You can't really imagine him with the eyeshadow and the lot but it's the only reasonable explanation for all his brash decisions. Good luck to the new manager, whoever he may be. At least he will know that legend status will be bestowed upon him should he succeed. And should he fail, he will still get paid handsomely to take a sabbatical.
Check out some of today's "top stories". To give these stories a sense of realism, papers have to "realistically" adjust their creative talents to truly reflect feasible possibilities with regards to players. Take Arsenal for example. Nothing strange going on there with their supposed interest in Piotr Trochowski. Wenger's keen eye for unknown talent at its best! And to think that people put up with 3 months of this rubbish every year. If I wanted to read fiction in the papers, I would be at the comics section. Thank God for the Euros! At least the rubbish will be diluted by the presence of some real football news.
Nonetheless you can still expect one story that will not lay low this summer. Chelsea's odyssey to find their new manager will dominate the sports section until they eventually find him! Hiddink, Rijkaard, Mancini, Hughes, even Eriksson gets a mention! Abramovich's riches will have to do a lot of the talking if he is going to entice a top notch manager to the club. If you can sack the Special One and his successor who nearly won 3 trophies in a season, you must be a real emo! Abramovich has probably been listening to too much Simple Plan! Wonders why his club is not perfect and why all this had to happen to him. You can't really imagine him with the eyeshadow and the lot but it's the only reasonable explanation for all his brash decisions. Good luck to the new manager, whoever he may be. At least he will know that legend status will be bestowed upon him should he succeed. And should he fail, he will still get paid handsomely to take a sabbatical.
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