Levante-Has The Dream Ended?

Levante UD ((Llevant Unió Esportiva), a small rather unknown team from Valencia who have continually lived in the shadows of their more illustrious neighbours,Valencia. This season the club was undefeated in nine, had defeated perennial contenders Real Madrid and was on the verge of being the first team in four years to win eight straight games in La Liga. Unfortunately, the bubble seems to have burst as Osasuna had other plans and have gone ahead to end Levante's great run at the top of La Liga, however, the story still needs to be told especially in a league like the Primera Liga where Barcelona or Real Madrid have been champions since 2004.

Is it safe to say that the wheel(s) have fallen off the Levante chariot or like Cinderella they are just missing one shoe; some salient areas of the Levante composition will be looked at to reflect if they are a flash in the pan or the real deal?

The Foundation

Levante's foundation has always been based on that of a struggle, although formed before Valencia, it has remained in the shadows of its neighbours; its struggles have been to remain relevant, remain in the upper regions of the Spanish game. 

Sergio Ballestros

The team is built from the back with its journey man captain, Sergio Martinez Ballesteros, built like a professional wrestler which serves as a deceptive ploy; but his performances this season have been completely different from what he is known for. Ballesteros is known to be a hard tackling defender that consistently gets on the wrong side of referees; however this season a new found maturity has been added to his game especially with his partnership with Nano which has reaped dividends; if you take a look at their entire back line it’s a back line of journey men; from Javi Venta to Juan Fran it consist of experienced old timers who had been at the top of the game in times past.

Managed by Juan Ignacio Martínez, a hustler in my estimation; he's built his reputation from the lower regions of the Spanish game, but finally finds himself in the big time. He's succeeded in blending experienced old timers and journey men on an extremely low budget and getting the best out of them. He has creatively built the team to its strengths, experience, a strong defensive based and a solid counter attacking 4-2-3-1 formation . He has done a good job replacing Getafe's Luis Garcia.

Levante's Formation

Levante(Blue) When Defending-Note the both the full backs are  narrow

Martinez understood that his side had limited qualities and adapted accordingly. Levante has one of the lowest possession percentage in the La Liga at 40 %. Levante's strength was playing in their own half and counter attacking. Also they had a number of long shots at goal.

Scored a lot of goals from set pieces and their counter attacks through the right with Valdo and Venta were quite effective.

Prudent Spending

Juan Ignacio Martinez or JIM as he is fondly called, has prudently built the team on a transfer budget of EUR 210,000.00 which to some teams is what a player earns, he's brought in the likes of Arouna Kone from Sevilla, Xavi Torres from Malaga  and Wellington Silva from Arsenal all on loan. Arouna Kone for me is the success story; he seems to have the hunger for the game once again, he has currently scored more goals this season that he has in the last 4 seasons; he may well be on the plane to Gabon and Equitorial Guinea with the Ivory Coast for the African Nations cup.
Jim also has experienced heads like Asier Del Horno signed on a free after his contract was terminated at Valencia, also signed on a free Aranda and Nabil El- Zhar; these bits and pieces have all played a part in Levante's Cinderella story. 



Are Levante, the Mainz of this season?

Yes they are, a great start; a breath of fresh air to an otherwise stereotyped league. A lot will depend on how they respond to their defeat to Osasuna, last season’s 14th placed finish is surmountable this season, but I strongly worry about the age of the back 4; with a combined age of 138 years. I worry if they'd stay fit and also be able to keep it together and not tire before December comes along. The story would be really worth telling if Levante are able to qualify for the Europa League, that would be bold to say , but stranger things have happened.

La Liga needs Levante to succeed

As earlier stated La Liga is a stereotyped league, the dominance of Real Madrid and Barcelona, to many does not help the league, but the emergence of Levante would do La Liga a lot of good. Levante have already defeated Real Madrid this season, which came to many as a surprise, but to some it was great to have such a result as it brought up arguments to support the notion that La Liga is still a competitive league; but truth be told the gulf in class is evident for all to see.

However, the whole league needs Levante to be a success story, to get attention  away from the disparity in the revenue sharing that has been a major controversy ,the league has had to deal with, success for Levante will set La Liga on a different course. By Success, I mean at least Europa League qualification, there is no way Levante will find themselves in touching distance of Barcelona and Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Next week, Levante have the derby against Valencia at home, there's no better way to get back on course than against your more illustrious neighbours and also to demonstrate to the entire league that they are no flash in the pan.


-Adeyemi Adesanya


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Premier League Week #9-Chalkboards

Kenny Dalglish Struggled to Find Answers Against Norwich


Dalglish started with two inverted wingers. The left footed Stewart Downing employed on the right, and right footed Craig Bellamy on the left. Downing was profligate, giving the ball away many times, his crosses not hitting their mark often enough. After Norwich’s equaliser, Dalglish attempted to change things about, and brought Henderson on for Bellamy, and switching the wingers back to their more natural sides. If Downing had been wasteful on the right, Henderson was woeful. Nearly half of his passes went astray. The chalkboards below show Downing on the right up until the introduction of Henderson, from which point he switched to the left, and in comparison. Obviously Downing has far more time on the pitch in that position, but playing percentages – Henderson 64% pass completion, Downing 74% completion. Neither of which are acceptable at home for Liverpool, but it’s clear that the change didn’t pay off.

When the second of Dalglish’s substitutions is considered – the old Big Man up front brought on to batter a weary defence, and brings off Stewart Downing. In effect he’s set Andy Carroll up to fail. By giving him 10 minutes at the end when both the best crossers of the ball (on paper at least) on the pitch that day have been withdrawn.

In the last ten minutes, Liverpool humped long balls up to Carroll, and tried to find him with crosses, ultimately with no joy.
The chalkboard below shows just the incomplete passes in the last ten minutes.

After buying so many central midfielders over the summer, the question was always going to be who would make way once Steven Gerrard returned to fitness. Jordan Henderson was thought to be the one at risk, his versatility perhaps hampering him from making a bold claim on any of the positions he can play in. Against Manchester United, Gerrard made his first start in a midfield partnership with Charlie Adam, and Lucas Leiva playing as a shield in front of the back four. Dalglish can perhaps be accused of underestimating Norwich – he left out Leiva to afford himself two up top. Luis Suarez had one of those games where on another day he’d have got four goals - but you don’t get anything for coming close, however many times you do so.
Gerrard’s performance wasn’t match-winning, but he got himself all over the pitch, and this game will have done his fitness no end of good. A few of his passes went astray, but sharpness will return, and he was Liverpool’s best passer on the day.

Chelsea Vs QPR

It’s often said that playing against 10 men is harder than against 11. Often said…. But rarely actually true. Playing against 9 men? Surely an easier task? It didn’t seem that way for QPR against the 9 men of Chelsea after Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba got their marching orders. The chalkboards here show Chelsea’ shots (First half – top picture). Off-target shots are shown in red, blocked shots as grey and shots on target are indicated in blue.
Chelsea failed to get a single shot on target in the first 45, and yes – that’s a shot from Drogba skewing off for a throw-in.
In the second half, despite having 9 men, Chelsea produced far more attacking threat. QPR rose to the challenge, putting in 4 blocks.

Contrast this with QPR’s performance, in terms of shots on goal in each half. Drogba was the second man sent off in the 41st minute. Yet QPR’s only two shots on target came in the first half. Helguson’s goal from 12 yards in the tenth minute, and Tarrabt’s free kick in the 34th minute. Therefore, QPR didn’t muster a single goal attempt on target from open play during the entire match.

Warnock is a canny manager, he knew that despite his team being two players to the good, Chelsea were still dangerous, and will also have had in mind that the Chelsea players will have felt incensed by refereeing dec isions that they felt had gone against them, and would be putting pressure on the referee constantly. Further evidence of this can be seen by looking at the chalkboards for the tackles QPR put in against Chelsea.

As you can see QPR were forced back into their own half far more, and made more tackles deep as Chelsea, despite being down to 9 men, pushed for an equaliser. The three points will be seen as a bonus by QPR and Warnock, who would’ve probably taken a draw from this weekend having seen the fixture list.

Written by Tom Nash of The Frustrated Footballer. you can follow Tom on twitter @ffootballer

How Manchester City Ripped Apart A 10 Men Manchester United[Video]

Going down to 10 men doesn't mean you concede 5 goals like Manchester United did,against Manchester City. There have been matches were a sending off has galvanized the team,and they went on to win the match. Darren Fletcher's goal may have given United a false hope that they can produce another of their famous comebacks,but it proved their undoing as City's counter attack was too strong.

With both the full backs playing almost as wingers,they were leaving just three at the back and at times only two. This made it too easy for City's forward players as they found space and time to destroy Man United.The below video by JohnGME  clearly showcases all of City's attacks after United were down to 10 men as Jonny Evans was sent off.

Man Utd Transfer >> Mame Diouf set for Cardiff loan move

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Mame Diouf set for Cardiff loan move

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Mame Biram Diouf is set for a loan move to Cardiff after failing to find a place in Manchester United's young striker is indeed difficult to fight with another striker at Manchester United.

Currently, Manchester United has some of the attackers such as: Rooney, Berbatov, Owen, Chicharito, Welbeck and Macheda.

Manchester United striker was intending to sell 23 years worth of £ 6 million, but it was Manchester United will set on loan Mame Diouf if no teams are interested in using his services.

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Manchester Derby-Things We Learned

The Manchester Derby's first installment this season has finally come and gone, the result was a surprise as Manchester City made a huge statement of intent by completely destroying Manchester United; 6-1. This defeat was United's worst at home since 1955 and Sir Alex's worst at home since being in charge since 1986. 


After watching a magnificent City performance, a number of things come to mind and I will best address them;

• Johnny Evans is not United (not anywhere near world) Class

 A lot of attention is being given to the sending off of Johnny Evans as the chief reason for United's humiliation, let’s take his 47mins or so on the pitch into contest; a sloppy pass when caught in no man's land in central midfield led to the first goal coupled with a poor attempt at a block as Super Mario passed the ball to the back of the net. Fresh from the dressing room at half time, all plaudits to Silva for the pass, but come on Johnny the ball is there to be played, you make a school boy error, leave the ball and all of a sudden start a romance with Mario Balotelli by being all over him. I know a number of United fans whose hearts skip a couple of beats when they see Johnny Evans on the team sheet. To think United sold Gerald Pique because they had big hopes for Evans, seems like one of Fergie's biggest mistakes, just take a look at Pique now at Barca, it says it all; Johnny Evans is not anywhere near the kind of defender that should put on the Red strip of United.

• David Silva, PFA Player of the year

It may just be October, but can the award be given already? David Silva, absolutely world class; his movement, passing, use of space and vision is really, really unmatched by anyone in the premier league. What's even more amazing is the way he goes about it in an unassuming manner like he's not doing anything spectacular. If any team wants to get the better of City, Silva is the man to put in check.

• Super Mario- 'Why Always Me?'

In previews before the game, a lot was said about the impact Mario Balotelli may have on the game; he was superb for City and showed why he is in such good form. The first goal was absolutely fantastic and the T- Shirt said it all. Balotelli with his temperament in check can go on to have a great career.

• United's new approach leaves huge gaps

Manchester United, this season have decided to play with a lot of pace especially from the wide areas, this somewhat shapes United in an open 4-2-4 formation, they may have gotten away with it against certain teams but City truly punished United with their numbers in Midfield. For instance, Sir Alex may have a rethink in playing Nani in the big games, take for example the first goal, James Milner takes the throw to Yaya Toure, Toure to Silva; within a twinkle of an eye James Milner moves into space passing by Nani who fails to pick up his run, hence isolating Smalling and the rest is history; same goes for the other two city goals by Balotelli and Aguero. The Full Backs clearly need help as the central midfield is clearly lost and confused (more on that later), so Nani and Young need to track back. After United went a man down, Micah Richards had the freedom of the right flank as Ashley Young was nowhere near him, more so Evra obviously needs some time off, he's completely off the pace; now the sale of O'Shea seems like a mistake as there's little cover in that position with Fabio injured.

• United's Slow and Sloppy Central Midfield

Whilst the 4-4-2 formation may not be dead after all, but it begs the question why Sir Alex has all of a sudden abandoned his 4-3-3/4-5-1 (although he tried it at Anfield) as he seems content to approach games with a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 with Rooney dropping as the spare man in midfield. The truth is the two members of the central midfield (in this new look 4-4-2) have to put in a hard shift especially when outnumbered, but the same cannot be said for United's midfield pairing particularly Anderson. Anderson was interestingly sluggish, out of pace, annoyingly one footed and rash in his decision making. His failure to pick up the run of Silva into the box for the second goal and the eventual allowance for him to make a pass to Milner just seems elementary; at some point during the second half there was a time Aguero just strolled past him, Anderson just strolled alongside him.

Picture Courtesy-David Vandepeer

Fletcher was ok, his goal gets him some level of exoneration, but a lot depends on the wingers’ involvement in the defensive side of the game. The build up to the sending off illustrates the sloppiness of the United Midfield, United were set up in two banks of fours, City had five players behind the ball and just two advanced against United's second bank of four, good use of the ball, players swift movement the difference and Balotelli is one on one with Evans.



What does the future hold?

Manchester City's victory is definitely a huge statement of intent, they'd take some stopping right now, but it’s a long way yet, a marathon not a sprint, a five point lead in October can be over turned anytime; with games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal still to come, it’s going to be a really interesting season.

For United on the other hand, a serious appraisal/post-mortem of  yesterday's collapse needs to be done and fast too; I believe it is safe to say that Rio Ferdinand's days as a sure starter may be numbered as Smalling and Vidic (as they displayed for most of last season) may just be the way forward. United need to sort out their midfield problems and fast too as well; Anderson is too sluggish and sloppy, maybe the return to full training of Tom Cleverly may be the answer.

It’s still a long way to go yet and United have come back from similar situations and still ended up winning the league; 5-0 loss to Newcastle, 5-0 loss to Chelsea and 4-1 loss to Liverpool some seasons ago are a number of examples to show United can still get the job done in the long run.


P.S. 

Levante are top of La Liga, who would have ever thought that would happen.

-Adeyemi Adesanya

Result >> Manchester United (1) vs (6) Manchester City [23 October 2011] - Barclays Premier League

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Manchester United (1) vs (6) Manchester City

Barclays Premier League Results | 9th Round | Football News | Manchester United Results | Manchester City Results | 23 October 2011 | 2011-2012

SCORERS
Manchester United : D. Fletcher[81']..
Manchester City : M. Balotelli[22', 60'], S. Agüero[69'], D. Silva[90+2'], E. Dzeko[90+1',90+3'].

FORMATION
Man Utd Squad : 4-4-2
De Gea; Smalling, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Young; Welbeck, Rooney.

Manchester City Squad : 4-4-2
Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Yaya Toure, Barry, Silva, Milner; Aguero, Balotelli.


MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: M Clattenburg‎.
Assistant referees: S Beck and S Child.
Fourth official: H Webb.
PGMO: U Rennie.
Match Delegate: T Dolan.

Here's latest scores Barclays Premier League round of 9th ( 22-23 October 2011) :

Saturday, 22 October 2011
FT - Wolves (2) vs (2) Swansea City
FT - Aston Villa (1) vs (2) West Bromwich A
FT - Bolton W (0) vs (2) Sunderland
FT - Newcastle United (1) vs (0) Wigan Athletic
FT - Liverpool (1) vs (1) Norwich City

Sunday, 23 October 2011
FT - Arsenal (3) vs (1) Stoke City - Report
FT - Fulham (1) vs (3) Everton
FT - Manchester United (1) vs (6) Manchester City
FT - Blackburn R (1) vs (2) Tottenham Hotspur
FT - QPR (1) vs (0) Chelsea - Report

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Preview >> Manchester United vs Manchester City [23 October 2011] - Barclays Premier League

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Barclays Premier : Manchester United vs Manchester City

Man Utd vs Man City
Old Trafford Stadium - Manchester
Sunday, 23 October 2011 - KO 13:30 BST

INJURED/UNAVAILABLE

Manchester United
Doubtful : .
Injured/unavailable : Tom Cleverley (foot) and Rafael (shoulder).

Manchester City
Doubtful : .
Injured/unavailable : .

POSSIBILITY FORMATION

Man Utd Squad : 4-4-2
De Gea; Smalling, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Young; Chicharito, Rooney.

Manchester City Squad : 4-4-2
Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Yaya Toure, Barry, Silva, Nasri; Aguero, Dzeko.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: M Clattenburg‎.
Assistant referees: S Beck and S Child.
Fourth official: H Webb.
PGMO: U Rennie.
Match Delegate: T Dolan.

Here's Barclays Premier League fixtures 9th ( 23 October 2011) :

Sunday, 23 October 2011

13:30 BST - Arsenal vs Stoke City
13:30 BST - Fulham vs Everton
13:30 BST - Manchester United vs Manchester City
15:00 BST - Blackburn R vs Tottenham Hotspur
16:00 BST - QPR vs Chelsea

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Is Cleverley Suffering From The Fletcher Syndrome??

Darren Fletcher dubbed by some as the Scottish “Lampard” in his teens was one of the most hated Manchester United player in the early part of his career. While some sections of the fans suggested that him being Scottish was the only reason he was selected in the team others called him as Sir Alex’s son. United’s former captain and midfield general Roy Keane too had blasted Fletcher in his notorious MUTV interview in wake of United’s 4-1 defeat at the Riverside. Espn football pundit Steve Mcmahon used to use the phrase “the Fletchers the O’Sheas and the Wes Browns of this world” when he used to criticize United’s lack of depth in the squad during the 2006-07 season highlighting the fact that Fletcher was not good enough when called upon in place of Scholes or Carrick.

                           Fast forward a couple of years and the Red Devils are playing Arsenal in the Champions League semi final where Darren Fletcher puts in the performance of his life where he covers every blade of grass, shows his ball winning skills by stopping Arsenal play their tiki-taka passing game. His determination was lauded when he made a superb tackle on to stop Fabregas from scoring (when the game was already done and dusted) that the referee thought otherwise and sent him off, which resulted in him missing the final against Barcelona (this drew comparisons with Roy Keane’s monster performance at the Stadio Delle Alpi where he too got booked and missed the final in Barcelona).

Although United were humiliated by Barcelona in the final, many stated that it was the inclusion of Ryan Giggs for the suspended Fletcher that had weakened United’s midfield where they lacked their enforcer’s stamina and box to box abilities to win the midfield battle. Good players become legends by performing at the biggest stage of em all, but for the first time it was a player’s being absent on the big stage that had made him a legend and a fan favourite. Fletcher although disappointed at not playing a part in the last two champion’s league finals, took heart from the positive publicity he had earned after that night in Rome and went on to earn a place in the PFA Team of the Year the following season at the expense of Lampard.
Fletcher may have become a more integral part of the squad now but hasn’t improved much as a player. Various injuries drop in form and illness resulted in him missing the re-match with Barcelona, where the same question was asked “would a fully fit Fletcher have given United a chance”.
After suffering 2 humiliations at the hands of Barcelona, United fans wanted Sir Alex to sign a world class midfielder like a Modric or a Sneijder who would help bridge the enormous gap that had been created between themselves and the Catalan giants. Many remained apprehensive when a young United team containing Tom Cleverley who had yet to make his United debut, a player who was nearly released by United as a teen because they thought he wasn’t good enough defeated Barcelona in a pre-season match at Washington DC. Cleverley’s energy was refreshing to many of the supporters who only had a few glimpses of him during his time at Watford and Wigan.

Good performances against Tottenham and Arsenal where United blitzkrieged their opponents with their mesmerizing football earned him a call up to the England squad and his movement and quick passing resulted in the formation of the slogan “Who needs Wesley when we’ve got Cleverley” an indication that the fans had forgotten all about the Sneijder saga; until he suffered from the “Fletcher Syndrome”.  A Kevin Davis challenge ruptured his ankle and he would be out for 4-6 weeks that coincided with United dropping a gear or two and looking pedestrian at best. This has raised the question where people have begun to believe that Cleverley was the messiah that kept this team ticking and on his absence the team has summoned back the labored performances of last season. 

As I was reading some posts on twitter after yesterday’s drab performance in Romania, some fans almost expect a Cantona-esque return from him which is too much to expect from a 22yr old who has played 4 games for United as his stock has risen since his injury. He maybe a talent but fans need to give him time to fulfill his potential.

On further note Wayne Rooney had claimed that United had adopted Barcelona’s pressing game to win the ball back quickly:-
"I think when you watch Barcelona a lot of people go on about their passing and the skills and how they keep the ball
"But, for me, when they lose the ball, how quickly they all defend and try and win the ball back, that's the biggest asset they've got, I think.
"They win it back so many times in the opponents' half and attack from there, so we've started trying to bring that into our game and thankfully that's started paying off for us."

But to defend like Barcelona one must not pass the ball more than 10-15 yards therefore it is easy to win back possession as you always have players close by to play a pressing game. With the loss of Cleverley Manchester United lose that quick one touch short passing game that Cleverley was able to forge with Anderson and therefore were unable to win the ball back high up the field something they were successful at, at the start of the season. Jones too who is comfortable with the ball at his feet offers an extra man in midfield with his marauding runs hence increasing the chances of keeping the ball in the oppositions half.
But with Fletcher in the team Anderson plays a much deeper role and Carrick basically just screens the defence by making interceptions hence the slow build up in some of the more recent games as all three of them lack the precision passing of Scholes to play that deeper role of switching the direction of play.
With the fixture list piling up and pressure building at the top of the Barclays Premier League it will be interesting to see how Sir Alex uses his man management skills to reduce the pressure on his fledglings as they play catch up ahead of the must win Manchester Derby.


-Rohit Shankarmani

Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester United vs Manchester City = biggest game this season << Man Utd News

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Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael da Silva in Training season 2011-2012

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Manager Sir Alex Ferguson commented to match Manchester United vs Manchester City tomorrow. Manchester United manager says the game is the biggest game of the season, because the position standings.

Currently, Manchester City are rated unity Barclays Premier League, Manchester United rated second. They closed to within two points, and as a deciding game standings.

Sir Alex Ferguson said, "This game will run very tight. With them leading the standings, while we are under occupying the runner-up, the picture will present the prospect of great spectacle for everybody."

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Result >> Otelul Galati (0) vs (2) Manchester United [18 October 2011] - Champions League

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Man Utd Result : Otelul Galati (0) vs (2) Manchester United

Manchester United Fixtures and Results | Football Livescorers | Champions League Fixtures 3rd | Group Stages | 18 October 2011 | 2010/2011

SCORERS
Otelul Galati :  - .
Manchester United : W. Rooney[64'(pen),90+2'(pen)].

FORMATION
Otelul Galati Squad : 4-4-2

Grahovac; Râpă, Costin, Sălăgeanu, Perendija; Antal, Filip, Frunza(Ilie,83'), Neagu(Pena,72'); Gurgu, Punoševac(Viglianti,87').

Man Utd Squad : 4-4-2

Lindegaard; Evra, Smalling, Vidic, Da Silva(Jones,76'); Anderson, Carrick, Nani, Valencia(Evans,71'); Rooney, Chicharito.

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: F. Brych.
Assistant referees: ....
Fourth official: ....
Assessor: ....

Here's latest scores UEFA Champions League fixtures 3rd Group Stage ( 18-19 October 2011) :

Tuesday, October 18
Champions League - Group A
Manchester City (2) vs (1) Villarreal.
Napoli (1) vs (1) Bayern Munich

Champions League - Group B
CSKA Moscow (3) vs (0) Trabzonspor
Lille (0) vs (1) Inter Milan

Champions League - Group C
Basel (0) vs (2) Benfica
Otelul Galati (0) vs (2) Manchester United

Champions League - Group D
Dinamo Zagreb (0) vs (2) Ajax Amsterdam
Real Madrid (4) vs (0) Lyon

Wednesday, October 19
Champions League - Group E
Bayer Leverkusen (2) vs (1) Valencia
Chelsea (5) vs (0) Racing Genk

Champions League - Group F
Marseille (0) vs (1) Arsenal
Olympiakos Piraeus (3) vs (1) Borussia Dortmund

Champions League - Group G
FC Porto (1) vs (1) APOEL Nicosia
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) vs (2) Zenit St

Champions League - Group H
AC Milan (2) vs (0) BATE Borisov
Barcelona (2) vs (0) Viktoria Plzen

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Javier Hernandez-Catch Me If You Can!

Picture Courtesy-David Vandepeer

Javier Hernandez's goal against Liverpool rescued a point for Manchester United. Hernandez was the lone bright spot in an otherwise poor afternoon for United.The finish was easy for the Mexican,but his movement before the goal to get rid of his marker was exemplary. Martin Skrtel was left with twisted blood as Hernandez ran a circle around him to head the ball into the net.

No doubt Hernandez is a great finisher,but his movement is even better. Always looking for space and trying to avoid defenders,the below video by JohnGME clearly shows his ability to avoid defenders and his knack of finding space.

Man Utd Transfer >> Mame Diouf ready to be released Manchester United's £ 6 million

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Mame Diouf ready to be released Manchester United's £ 6 million

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Manchester United reportedly will soon release a young striker Mame Biram Diouf in the January transfer window in 2011, Diouf his plan would be released if there are clubs that do offer £ 6 million. 

Actually Diouf has excellent technique, but he rarely gets a chance at first team, his benyak attacker must be willing to make him be in the squad coatings.

Mame Diouf brought in Manchester from Molde in 2009 of £ 3.75 million, likely he will be loaned to Division Championship clubs if not club interested.

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Man Utd News >> Evra reveals racist allegations made Suarez

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Evra reveals racist allegations made Suarez

Patrice Evra News | Patrice Evra Latest News | Patrice Evra News Now | Patrice Evra Pictures and Wallpaper | Patrice Evra Photos | 2011-2012

Manchester United defender Patrice Evra said the incident happened when Manchester United face Liverpool at the weekend. At time, Evra revealed that Luis Suarez has made provocation involving racism.

It looks tension between Evra and Suarez on the game, the FA reportedly will soon conduct an investigation. This session interviews revealed Evra told French television station Canal Plus.

There were a number of cameras, you can see him [Suarez] said something to me said there were at least 10 times. "Said Patrice Evra.

England Football Association (FA) will investigate allegations of Evra to Suarez, however, the liverpool and its Suarez denied any racist action.

we wait for the latest news of this case, be patient ...

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Should Rooney Board The Plane To Ukraine/Poland

Picture Courtesy-Graeme Bandeira

UEFA’s ruling that Wayne Rooney’s red card against Montenegro is worthy of a three-match ban has been scrutinised and may well be reduced subject to an appeal. Should an appeal prove successful it would be likely that the ban would be reduced to two matches but even then the question will remain as to whether or not Fabio Capello will select Rooney for the squad to compete in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

For the purpose of this exercise, it will be assumed that the three-match ban is upheld. This would rule Rooney out of the group stage. The Euros are a 16-team tournament and therefore should England surprise European observers and reach the final, Rooney would be able to feature in half of the fixtures. He is one of those players who can really turn a game around and when in his finest form, he falls into the “unplayable” category. Rooney could be the man to make a difference in the latter stages where the tournament is at its tightest and where mistakes are kept to a minimum often maximising the desire to exploit any errors possible to achieve the desired results. With Rooney on the pitch, England would surely seem to be a greater threat on an individual basis to a respective opponent. 

There is a counter-argument to this calling for Capello to be bold and leave Rooney out of the final Euro 2012 squad. The reasoning is based more on a desire for a stronger collective. As mentioned earlier, Rooney undoubtedly strengthens England on an individual basis. It remains a point of contention as to his impact on a collective basis. With talents such as Daniel Sturridge emerging and looking to prove themselves on the biggest stages in football, Capello might just be wondering whether to formulate a different plan than the one he’s deployed so far. Rooney’s involvement could often lead to his teammates relying on the Manchester United forward perhaps too much. Without him there, it might encourage more equality of responsibility in the squad and with that a better collective performance. Let’s also not forget why England are in this situation in the first place. Rooney’s petulant kicking-out highlighted what has been on display on occasions before.
While his temperament aids his energetic play, it can also be a hindrance when things aren’t going his way on the pitch. Also Rooney would in effect be taking up a valuable squad place in the group stages that could be used by a player available for deployment adds weight to the argument. 


Players such as Gabriel Agbonlahor, Danny Welbeck and Bobby Zamora are impressing for their clubs this season and it would perhaps to be cruel to deny them an opportunity if they turn out consistently good performances for their respective teams. It would appear that those three aforementioned players would be likely candidates to take Rooney’s place but currently there is a growing movement for Daniel Sturridge’s inclusion in the England team. Friendly matches while ridiculed by many will offer more evidence as to just who is the preferred choice to take the Manchester United forward’s place in the starting eleven. 

It would appear unlikely that Capello would deny Rooney a place in the squad next summer. The Italian’s reign is coming to an end regardless of what England achieves next summer. Of course it does rely on Rooney not suffering either serious injury or a disastrous drop in form as to whether he should be included in the squad but for a player of his natural talent as well as significant press backing, it would increase the likelihood that regardless of the ban he will be selected. The question that that would bring up is whether or not Rooney would come straight back into the fold but this is a question that can only be speculated upon as England might not even progress from the group phase. It would be dependent on a multitude of factors with the key aspects being form and also how the other contenders for a squad place fare in the warm-up games as well.

Picture Courtesy-David Vandepeer

Rooney is of course one of the best footballers in the modern game and it would be to the tournament’s detriment as a whole if he were not present. However, such an absence could help England’s cause either in the tournament and perhaps in the long-term as England will need to learn how to operate without Rooney if they are to be able to challenge the likes of Spain and Germany. England are clearly not on the same level as the Spanish, the Germans or the Dutch at present but by developing a Plan B, they could surprise. Surprises can often lead to glory. The European Championships of yesteryears provide evidence to show such. Denmark and Greece upset the applecart of the established European order. It’s not to say that Rooney is the issue but tactical versatility would certainly be a useful asset for England in the long-run of nothing else.


-Andrew Harding