Confederations Cup Betting: Zonal Marking Preview

June 12th, 2013 by Michael Cox

Brazil – best betting odds to win 2.5 from Stan James

The clichéd view of Brazil insists they play free-flowing, attack-minded ‘samba football’ with a plethora of talented attackers, but possess a rather ramshackle defensive unit. Anyone hoping to witness that kind of football from the Confederation Cup hosts will be sorely disappointed, however.

Brazil’s strength is at the back, where they boast the world’s best centre-back in Thiago Silva. The skipper is the perfect partner for David Luiz, who plays a more cultured role alongside. Daniel Alves and either Filipe Luis or Marcelo provide forward energy, while Julio Cesar remains a fine goalkeeper.

In midfield, Felipe Solari appears to favour a double pivot in the centre of the pitch, probably comprising Paulinho and Luis Gustavo. Then, we can expect to see Neymar drifting inside from the left flank to link up with centre-forward Fred.

The problem for Brazil over the past three years has been about the right-sided and central playmakers. Chelsea’s Oscar should play a part, probably in the middle – but on the right Hulk often appears too basic and selfish, although he does possesses an impressive ‘minutes per goal’ record at international level.

Still, PSG’s Lucas Moura might be a better option on the right, to provide Fred with proper service – the centre-forward is in fine form at international level and should be a contender for the Golden Boot.

10 Potentially Pivotal Premier League Summer Transfers

June 5th, 2013 by Michael Cox

Fernandinho, Shakhtar Donetsk to Manchester City

Although capped only five times by Brazil, Fernandinho is a highly impressive midfielder who would bring energy and tenacity to the centre of the Manchester City side.

Many City fans believe Manuel Pellegrini will require a solid holding midfielder this season, following last summer’s departure of Nigel De Jong, and Javi Garcia’s unconvincing displays since his arrival from Benfica. However, Fernandinho isn’t really that player – he’s a more mobile midfielder broadly in the style of Chelsea’s Ramires, dependent upon surges of energy to turn defence into attack smoothly.

Individually, he’s clearly good enough to play for City – but a partnership between him and Yaya Toure might not get the best out of either, and City probably need to strengthen in other areas to improve their title changes significantly.

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Thinking about Applying to be the new Chelsea Manager?

June 3rd, 2013 by Simon

Are you a football manager out of work? There are lots of job vacancies available at present, and arguably, the vacant Chelsea manager position is one of the most sought after on the market.

We’ve put together a flow chart to help you decide whether or not you should apply:

Particularly after the Premier Leagues recent gaffe in publishing details about Mourinho’s reappointment as Chelsea manager over the weekend, it seems unlikely that anyone else is going to get a look in, and it’s just a matter of time until its officially announced!

Five things England need to do for World Cup 2014

May 29th, 2013 by Michael Cox

1. Retain the ball better

England have always thrived when playing a more direct form of football than the tiki-taka favoured by Spain recently, and even before the Bundesliga’s dominance of the European Cup this season, a German style of football seemed a better template for England than the Spanish style of football.

Still, a consistent problem for England at major international tournaments is tiredness. This was particularly obvious when England were eliminated by Italy at Euro 2012 last year – Roy Hodgson’s side may have scraped a 0-0 draw, but they were outplayed in the central midfield zone, with Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard exhausted at an early stage because they spent so long defending.

There’s a belief that the more a side retains possession, the less they have to run. That’s statistically uncertain, but constantly chasing the ball is certainly mentally draining – England must become less reactive and impose their own football on the game.

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Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund – Recent meetings analysed

May 22nd, 2013 by Michael Cox

When Bayern Munich meet Borussia Dortmund on Saturday evening at Wembley, it will be their tenth meeting in the last three seasons, spread over five separate competitions.

The first five of those nine meetings ended in Dortmund victories – but the previous four matches have seen two Bayern victories, and two league draws that played into the hands of the Bavarian side. Here’s a look at each match in turn, and what lessons we can learn from each contest.

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Moyes versus Mourinho versus Pellegrini: 2013-14 Premier League Title Race

May 16th, 2013 by Michael Cox

Next season will be the first time in Premier League history that the three favourites have all appointed new managers in the summer – an obvious consequence of Sir Alex Ferguson’s amazing 26-year spell in charge of Manchester United.

Only United have confirmed their next manager, David Moyes, with Manchester City and Chelsea still in limbo, but widely expected to confirm Manuel Pellegrini and Jose Mourinho respectively.

In terms of background and experience, Moyes, Pellegrini and Mourinho are three entirely different coaches. One is British, another European, another is a real rarity – a Premier League coach from South America. They’ve had very different experiences in recent years: Moyes has been in the Premier League for a decade but has little experience of Europe or title fights, while Pellegrini has been in charge of top sides before, but has little knowledge of the Premier League. If both appointments are considered risky because neither coach has won a domestic title in Europe before, in a sense Moyes and Pellegrini are entirely different gambles.

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Top 5 Champions League Teams of the Century

May 1st, 2013 by Michael Cox

5. Inter Milan, 2010

Jose Mourinho’s second European Cup victory perfectly summed up his management style – Inter were defensively solid and ruthless on the counter-attack. Many remember their incredible bus-parking exercise at the Camp Nou in the semi-final second leg, but Inter were also capable of attacking with power and pace. Their 3-1 first leg victory was arguably the most impressive dismantling of Guardiola-era Barcelona, while their convincing destruction of Mourinho’s former club Chelsea confirmed Wesley Sneijder’s brief status as Europe’s most dangerous attacking midfielder.

Mourinho could switch between defence and attack without altering the identity of his players – in theory, Sneijder behind Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev was an absurdly adventurous quartet. However, Mourinho managed to persuade Eto’o and Pandev, both centre-forwards by trade, to drop back into extremely deep midfield positions, so Inter could be either 4-2-1-3 or 4-4-1-1 in Europe, despite favouring 4-3-1-2 in Serie A. Sneijder’s relationship with Milito was always key to their quick attacking.

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Top 10 Champions League performances this century

April 24th, 2013 by Michael Cox

10. Milan 0-2 Arsenal, 2008

No English side had ever defeated AC Milan at San Siro, and Arsenal travelled to the reigning champions feeling they’d missed their opportunity to take command of the tie in the first leg, when Emmanuel Adebayor hit the bar late on.

Arsene Wenger named a very cautious starting XI, with Emmanuel Eboue and Abou Diaby on either side of the midfield, but it proved effective as Arsenal competed with Milan’s diamond in the centre of the pitch, upsetting Andrea Pirlo’s rhythm and denying Kaka space to work in.

It took 84 minutes for the first goal of the game, with Cesc Fabregas’ long-range strike, before substitute Theo Walcott teed up Emmanuel Adebayor for the second. This was Paolo Maldini’s final European game, and marked the end of Milan’s mid-2000 dominance of the European Cup.

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Top 10 Premier League Individual Performances

April 17th, 2013 by Michael Cox

10. Moussa Sissoko, Newcastle 3-2 Chelsea

Many expected January signing Moussa Sissoko to be used in a deep midfield position, with Yohan Cabaye playing at the top of the triangle – but Alan Pardew had other ideas. Sissoko was pushed forward in support of Papiss Cisse, and constantly drove Newcastle forward with powerful midfield runs.

In only his second Premier League appearance, Chelsea seemed unprepared for his direct running. Sissoko was involved in everything good about Newcastle, creating three chances for teammates, and popping up with two crucial goals in a 3-2 victory. His subsequent performances have been decent rather than spectacular, but this was evidence that Sissoko can be an invaluable player for Newcastle next season.

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United benefit from admirable disciplinary record

April 11th, 2013 by Michael Cox

When we look back upon the 2012/13 season in years to come, we’ll hardly consider the lack of bookings as a vital part of Manchester United’s title success – but a small, interesting part of their campaign has been their admirable disciplinary record. In the past couple of years, Sir Alex Ferguson has been in trouble with the FA more frequently than any of his players.

Along with Southampton and Sunderland, United are one of only three clubs not to have suffered from a red card this season – in fact, the last Manchester United player to be sent off in the Premier League was almost 18 months ago, when Jonny Evans was shown a red card for hauling down Mario Balotelli in the Manchester derby. United were only 1-0 down at that point, and went onto be thrashed 6-1 after pushing men forward and leaving their depleted defence exposed on the counter-attack. If they need it, that was a perfect lesson in keeping eleven men on the pitch.

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