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Saturday, 30 October 2010

Herr Schteve’s German exploits thus far…

                                             Big Steve enters the world of Fussball


As you may well remember, the man after whom our blog is lovingly named began his continental managerial career with this cringing interview, in which he put on a strange pseudo-Dutch accent in what can only have been an attempt to ‘bridge the culture gap’. However, this ludicrous start ultimately ended in success, with big Schteve bringing home a first ever Dutch Title to FC Twente Enschede, ahead of the more illustrious names of Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, and, perhaps most impressively for a man who wasn’t afraid to splash the cash at Middlesbrough, without an embarrassment of riches. In fact, his inspired replacements of the departing Eljero Elia and Marko Arnautovic with Bryan Ruiz and the on-loan Miroslav Stoch proved crucial to Twente’s success.

Naturally, Steve drew interest from other clubs, notably VfL Wolfsburg, and on 11th May 2010, McClaren headed for the Bundesliga, and, thankfully, did not try to endear himself with any Monty Python walks or ill-advised German accents. To the outsider as well Wolfsburg seems like a great job to take – former Bundesliga champions (08-09), with serious finance courtesy of being a subsidiary of Volkswagen and a playing squad rich in talent would suggest that Steve can only build on his burgeoning reputation throughout Europe.

Certainly his summer transfer activity has been promising. Probably his major coup was not in fact a signing, but rather keeping hold of striker Edin Dzeko, who, with 65 goals in his previous two seasons, had been attracting more than passing glances from the twin powers of Manchester as well as many other would-be suitors, including an AC Milan still struggling to replace Shevchenko.


                                        Bosnia's £30 million-rated hitman

His purchases also seem very well-reasoned – Palermo’s young centre-back Simon Kjaer (undisclosed – believed around €10 million) had previously been linked with many other clubs across Europe, and would seem a ready-made partner for Andrea Barzagli. In addition, Wolfsburg announced the return to the Bundesliga of Brazilian playmaker Diego from an ill-fated spell at Juventus (€15.5 million) to bolster their midfield, with German international Arne Friedrich and Croatian Mario Mandzukic also joining the fold.

However, the season has not started quite as McClaren would have wished. An opening day fixture away to Bayern Munich is hardly how he would have hoped to open his account, and they were unlucky to lose 2-1 thanks to a 93rd minute strike from Bastian Schweinsteiger. Sadly, they would also go on to lose their next two games, the first a reminder of that classic game of two halves between Tottenham and Man Utd, with die Wölfe taking a 3-0 lead only to capitulate 4-3 at home to Mainz, and the second a 2-0 loss away at Dortmund, courtesy of a stunning strike from Nuri Sahin.

After this game, McClaren reverted (after a certain amount of pressure from his players) to a standard 4-4-2 from his preferred 4-2-3-1 from his Twente days, recalling Grafite to partner Dzeko in the same system that brought them their title win back in 2009. This change, admittedly helped by some easier fixtures, resulted in 9 points from their next three games; a 2-0 win at home to Hannover followed by a 3-1 win away at Hamburg and finally a 2-1 home victory over Freiburg – with all but one of the goals coming from either Dzeko or Grafite.


                                             Dzeko and Grafite in their 2009 heyday


A draw against Gladbach was followed with more concerning news: that of an injury to rock-solid keeper Diego Benaglio, with the reserve reserve Martin Hitz taking over in goal for the next few games. Sadly, Hitz had a bit of a nightmare with Wolfsburg 2-0 up at home to Bayer Leverkusen, demonstrating that rush of blood to the head all too common with German goalies. In trying to punch a cross clear, Hitz managed to miss the ball by miles, allowing Simon Rolfes to head into an empty net. They lost the game 3-2, and would go on to lose away to Nürnberg as well.

It would be harsh to judge Steve’s success after a mere nine games, yet given his previous success at Twente, 10 points of a possible 27 has to be seen as a poor start to the season, with Wolfsburg languishing in 13th place. His defensive partnership of Barzagli and Kjaer have yet to really gel, with both being guilty of individual mistakes, whilst he attempted to mould his players to the system at the beginning of the season, rather than the other way around.

However, he has learnt from this mistake, and Wolfsburg have looked much more dangerous since reverting to their more familiar 4-4-2. There are positives in that both Grafite and Dzeko are firing on all cylinders, whilst Diego has had a good start to life back in the Bundesliga. There have also been very few tougher starts than Bayern away, followed by the current top two with Mainz at home and Dortmund away. In addition, Benaglio’s return any day now should add confidence behind the wavering defence, and whilst clean sheets are a rarity in the Bundesliga, having a Swiss number one won’t hurt! This weekend’s fixture at the Volkswagen Arena against Stuttgart, who are also floundering, should give them a chance to rise up the table, and with the options they have in attack, once Steve sorts the defence out, it would be highly surprising should the green-and-whites continue to struggle in the lower reaches of the table.

Top Scorers

Grafite - 6 goals
Dzeko - 5 goals
Diego - 3 goals
Friday, 29 October 2010

Topical XIs: The Premiership Under-Rated XI

Every team in the Premiership depends on their star players, be it Drogba and Essien at Chelsea or Kenwyne Jones at Stoke. It is a fact that all teams are dependent upon a certain nucleus of players.
Whilst the typical debates of "Best XI" do excite the team here at Wally with a Brolly, we are more interested in the lower-tier players who are also vital to their teams.
So here comes our first topical XI, that of the most under-rated players in the Prem!

After much debate and browsing through all the teams, we have managed to settle on a starting XI. Despite the tendency nowadays to rely upon the fashionable 4-2-3-1 formation, we have decided to go for a classic 4-4-2 set-up.
Every player chosen has had at least a few seasons in the Prem and has been consistently good. This explains for the omission of players from Blackpool notably (even though Charlie Adam is one hell of a player in our book, notwithstanding his howler against Birmingham) and a few of the yo-yo clubs.
We hope you'll enjoy our choices, which are all open for debate. Let us know what you think!

Here is the team, with player profiles to follow:

                                                                Jaaskelainen


        Carr                             Hughes                               Distin                            Enrique


       Osman                          Neville                               Gardner                         Jarvis


                                            Doyle                                 Rodallega




Goalkeeper: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers)

Ever-reliable
Is this really a surprise? A unanimous decision by the team at Wally with a Brolly, Jussi Jaaskelainen has been ever-present and ever-reliable at Bolton since he joined them from Vaasan Palloseura in 1997. Incredibly loyal, despite performances linking him in the past with moves to Arsenal in particular, Jussi has been one of the Premiership's outstanding goalkeepers of the last decade. He has consistently helped Bolton avoid relegation with outstanding saves. Honours include being named Bolton's player of the year numerous times as well as being the first goalkeeper in Ruud van Nistelrooy's career to win a personal duel from the penalty spot. In our view, a worthy and indisputable choice as our number 1 goalkeeper!

Honourable mention for this position must also go to the following players: Paul Robinson, who has revived his career at Blackburn, Thomas Sorensen, Brad Friedel, Mark Schwarzer and Tim Howard.



Right-Back: Stevie Carr (Birmingham)

Mr.Consistency
After the traditional career-destroying stay at Newcastle, Stevie Carr had effectively given up on football. Struggling to find the form which had made him one of the most exciting and effective right-backs in the Premiership at Tottenham in the early 2000s,  Carr had decided to retire from a sport in which he found no more joy. After announcing his decision to end it all in December 2008, he was back doing what he did best in February 2009, after a frantic phone call from Alec McLeish had persuaded to give football one last go, albeit in the Championship. Two years later, Stephen Carr is a starter in the Premiership team going from strength to strength. Despite not having the legs he used to (he turned 34 in August), Carr is still a wily operator at right-back, providing great defensive cover as well as impeccable distribution. Whilst his 2010-2011 season started inauspiciously with a howler of a game in the opener against Sunderland, Carr has still (re)found his feet. Whilst Roger Johnson and Scott Dann took many of the plaudits for last season's rock-solid Birmingham defensive performances (and cocky Liam Ridgewell cheekily stating a claim for an England place), we at Wally with a Brolly believe that Stephen Carr has been a model of consistency and professionalism at right-back. Truly one of the most under-rated defenders in the league nowadays.

Honourable mentions: Gretar Steinsson, Phil Bardsley and Gonzalo Jara.


Central Defender: Aaron Hughes (Fulham)

Master of positioning
 After having been a more-than-able right-back for Newcastle at the start of the last decade (here's a sentence not normally associated with NUFC!), Aaron Hughes joined Aston Villa in a typically sensible transfer, for £1m, in 2005. After two honourable seasons there, and needing a change of scenery to ensure first-team football, the Northern Ireland captain (since 2003) joined Lawrie Sanchez's short-lived transformation of Fulham into the national side he used to manage. Despite a number of failures from this era (hello David Healy!) and mitigated performers (Chris Baird we salute you!), the main positive was the arrival of Aaron Hughes at Craven Cottage. Calm, composed and obviously a well-liked team-mate, Aaron Hughes has been a mainstay of one of the Premier League's strongest defence of the last few years. Whilst Brede Hangeland rightfully (in our mind) takes a lot of the plaudits for his outstanding play, we believe a centre-back is always as good as his partner (as Vidic has found out this season with young Jonny Evans), and these two mesh beautifully. Outstanding positioning and solid technique have been features of Hughes' play at Fulham, making him, in our view, one of the most under-rated CBs in the division.


Central Defender: Sylvain Distin (Everton)

Strength and power
 Standing taller than 6ft 3, Sylvain Distin has been one of the most consistently outstanding central defenders in the Premier League for clubs outside the top 4. After having joined Newcastle on loan in 2001, Distin stuck around, joining Man City in 2002. 5 great seasons ensued, with Distin eventually becoming club captain, a great honour for a foreign player. Growing tired of the uncertainty surrounding the club, the tal Frenchman joined the Harry Redknapp "revolution" (or in normal terms "living above one's means"), becoming a mainstay of a strong defence which culminated in a deserved FA Cup winner's medal in 2008. Once again, Distin left the club after becoming captain.
Since joining Everton in 2009, Sylvain has become a regular starter, providing great cover for Tim Howard with Phil Jagielka. Still prone to errors, and sometimes guilty of dodgy positioning, he is nevertheless one of the strongest players in the Premiership, also more than capable of bringing the ball out of defence. His status as captain in many of his clubs is also testament to his ability to inspire respect among his team-mates, as is the fact he has now played more than 300 Premier League games. For these reasons, and the belief he would combine well with Aaron Hughes, Sylvain Distin is our second under-rated CB to make it into the team.

Honourable mentions: Many great contenders for his position. Christopher Samba, as a cult hero and all-around nice guy, was on the cusp of making the team. Unfortunately his defensive abilities, whilst strong, pale in comparison to the players mentioned above. Same thing applies to Abdoulaye Faye. Jody Craddock must also be acknowledged for his revival at Wolves. Titus Bramble was also a serious contender for resurrecting his career from laughing-stock to outstanding defender at Sunderland. Others mentioned were the Johnson-Dann duo, James Collins, Robert Huth and Vincent Kompany.


Left-Back: José Enrique (Newcastle)
From laughing-stock to echoes of
a left-sided Warren Barton (we're joking)
It's a rare case when a player, especially when foreign, understands what loyalty to his club means (we're looking at you Rooney!), José Enrique has resurrected his career since deciding to staty at Newcastle. A young naive left-back when he arrived at St James' Park, not only in terms of footballing ability but also in the idea that coming to NUFC would make him a better defender, the Spaniard from Valencia quickly bounced back. Probably the Championship's best LB last year, after having been a decent defender in the awful team relegated in 2008/2009, José Enrique has proven to be a solid member of a back four which has shown more than a passing interest in the art of defending this season. Good pace, trickery and delivery now mixed with a more acute sense of positioning have made José Enrique, once a highly-rated left-back from Villareal and Spanish under-21 (nothing to scoff at!), the most under-rated left-sided defender in the Premiership.

Honourable mentions: Despite his laughable individual claims for an England call-up, Liam Ridgewell has been part of one of the most impressive back fours outside the top 4, even getting a few crucial goals. Stephen Warnock's play is still unedr-rated despite his recent call-ups to the England squad. Gaël Givet, once member of the French squad which made it to the World Cup final in 2006 (!!!), has also shown glimpses of efficiency and solidity, albeit without a knowledge of actually crossing a ball.


Right Midfielder: Leon Osman (Everton)
Skill and trickery

A one-club man, Leon Osman has epitomised the outstanding job David Moyles has undertaken in his eight and a half years at the helm of Everton. Blessed with pace and a good touch, Osman doesn't shy away from getting stuck in, and is the typical 7/10 player. He has been a regular in the Everton side since 2004, clocking up nearly 200 Premier League appearances and a few goals along the way. Despite the arrivals of players of the calibre of Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar, Fellaini and Bilyaletdinov, Osman has managed to continue to stake his claim effectively. The sort of player who will get you 5-6 goals and the same number of assists. An immensely valuable and under-rated player at Everton, he rightly deserves to be in our list.

Honourable mentions: Simon Davies, Clint Dempsey, Sebastian Larsson, Lee (Bolton) and Jordan Henderson (one for the future).


Central Midfielder: Phil Neville
Mr.Dependable

Widely derided as the bad footballing half of one of the most disliked couple of twins in Prem history, and never forgiven for his woeful tackle which eliminated an awful England squad at Euro 2000, Phil Neville has since then reinvented himself as the heart of an overachieving Everton team. Cast away by Fergie despite 11 years of good service and more than 250 Premier League games for Man Utd, the younger Neville quickly set about proving his doubters wrong. Whether it be as an effective full-back (such as when he marked Gareth Bale out of the recent game against Tottenham) or as a hard-working holding midfielder, Phil has proved to be an essential cog in the Everton machine, clocking up more than 150 appearances in 5 years at the club. He has also shown that players can still survive after leaving Man U. Would Fergie take him at the moment instead of the awful Carrick or the inexperienced Da Silva twins as cover? We believe so. And for this reason he has to be part of our under-rated XI.


Central Midfielder: Craig Gardner
Hard-worker
A product of the successful Aston Villa academy, Craig Gardner quickly set about establishing himself in the youthful squad created by Martin O'Neill. With other graduates such as Gabby Agbonlahor, he showed he was here to stick around, unlike the Isaiah Osbourne of this world (who and where is he now?). However, despite promising performances, he was continually in and out of the side, sometimes playing out of position at right-back. Tired of his treatment at the hands of the mercurial O'Neill, Gardner took the difficult and controversial decision of joining Villa's rivals, joining the team of grafters constructed by Alec McLeish on the other side of Birmingham. Since then, he has been one of Birmingham's outstanding players, currently their top scorer this season with 4 goals to his name. Not only does the young man score goals, but he is also a willing runner and tackler, consistently putting in a great shift. For his ability to be a true box-to-box midfielder, Craig Gardner makes it into our team.

Honourable mentions: like the position of CB, this was a close contest with other players. Barry Ferguson (most passes attempted in the Prem last season) could have replaced his team-mate as the epitomy of efficiency. Steven N'Zonzi also proved how valuable to Blackburn's survival hoopes he is with a few cracking goals, and David Dunn is one of the most under-rated creative players in the division. Similarly Charlie Adam has had a great start and Muamba and Etuhu are both consistent holding midfielders willing to do the dirty job efficiently. Others included were Joey Barton (scum but a good player), Glenn Whelan, Dean Whitehead, Youssuf Mulumbu (a major reason why West Brom are competitive), Mark Noble, Mohammed Diamé and David Jones (contender for goal of the season).


Left Midfielder: Matt Jarvis (Wolves)
Kevin McNaughton (Cardiff, left)
prefers pretending to be blind
rather than acknowledging embarrassment
at the feet of Matt Jarvis. A recurrent
sight this year in the Prem.

Here is a player we really like here at Wally with a Brolly. A young English player who served his apprenticeship in the lower leagues, first with Gillingham (more than 100 appearances before turning 21!) and now at Wolves. Pacy, direct, skillful, able to use both feet, Jarvis is a prime example that managers do not necessarily need to look abroad for quality wing play. He has adapted incredibly well to the Premiership, taking it by storm with his great delivery. Despite being right-footed, Jarvis has demonstrated great ability from the left, causing constant problems to opposition right-backs. Whilst we would like him to score more goals (3 in the Prem last season), he has shown improvement in that area, with last year's tally nearly matched already. Deserved calls for a call-up to the England squad, even if only as a reward for his great play.

Honourable mentions: Matthew Etherington has been a great performer for Stoke after a disappointing spell for West Ham. Insomnia (Charles N'Zogbia) is one of the two reasons (more to follow) why Wigan haven't found their way back to League 1. Chris Brunt has been West Brom's outstanding performer of the last 3 years and Damien Duff has enjoyed a revival at Fulham after the standard career-threatening time at St James' Park. Martin Petrov has slightly disappointed since joining Bolton but he can be credited with a change of culture at that club whilst Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Marc Albrighton are both relatively unproven yet exciting prospects.


Striker: Hugo Rodallega (Wigan)
A touch of class at the DW
Despite being over-rated, Roberto Martinez is a likeable and competent guy. This still doesn't get away from the fact that without two players he didn't sign himself Wigan would be bottom of League 1. The most important of these two is undoubtedly Hugo Rodallega. Since joining Dave Whelan's club in 2008, the Colombian has set about proving Premiership observers that he is one of the most under-rated players in the league. Capable of showing touches of utter class, Rodallega has been the mainstay of a poor side. His 10 goals last season in the league kept the club up, and he has started the season in the same vein of form, despite inexplicably being played out of position as a winger to enable Martinez to play the frightening (by his lack of ability) Mauro Boselli (no goals so far in the league, and missed a sitter a few weeks ago). Rodallega has continued to do his job without raising any concerns or behaving like a diva, and his goals generally tend to be winning ones (like against Tottenham this season). For being a good team-mate and a class player in a rubbish team, Rodallega deserves his place in our under-rated XI.


Striker: Kevin Doyle (Wolves)
Strength, pace and skill.
The perfect package for struggling
Premiership teams.
After breaking unto the scene as an unknown Irishman at Reading, Kevin Doyle has consistently shown he clearly has the ability to impact on games in the Premier League. 19 goals in two seasons at the Madejski, and then 18 back in the Championship prompted Mick McCarthy to spend £6.5m to bring Doyle to Wolves. Since then he has been Wolves' only chance of goals (before the arrival of Fletcher) and his 9 goals were incredibly valuable for a team who resorted to a 4-5-1 and only scored 32 goals in the league last year. 28 goals in 3 years for two teams battling relegation is testament to the Irishman's ability, but his contribution should not only be measured in goals. As a willing runner and a constant threat to back fours with a combination of pace and deceptive power, Kevin Doyle has shown he is Premiership class. Whilst reports of a bid being prepared by Arsenal in the summer did provide us with a bit of comic relief in a tepid summer transfer window, it is a wonder as to why better clubs such as Fulham, Everton, Stoke (who chose the wrong Reading player in Kitson) and West Ham (not better but bigger) haven't put in a cheeky bid. The ultimate under-rated Premiership striker.
                                                                                
Honourable mentions: John Carew (37 goals in 3 and a half seasons at Villa), Cameron Jerome (Heskey-like when Big Emile was at his Liverpool peak), Gabby Agbonlahor (45 goals in last 4 seasons), Nicola Kalinic (always creates chances), Johan Elmander, Louis Saha, Kenwyne Jones.

Any questions/comments? This list is obviously open to debate so please let us know what you think!

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Celebrating some golden misses

The pleasure of watching football is always enhanced with that of watching full-grown men miss open goals. Cue the bursts of laughter and traditional nan-related screams!
Here is a classic selection.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeNXU0W8izo