All posts by h79snht.top

The key to football is having the ball. It may seem an obvious statement but one that is understated by many. Barcelona are the masters of it and success comes as a result.

If you keep the ball then you create chances, score goals and, most importantly, don’t concede. If you do this well then you win a football match.

To have a good football team, you need players who are capable of passing the ball to a player in the same colour. Whether it’s three-yards backwards or a 40-yard wonder ball, keeping the ball ultimately wins you matches.

It is a trait which Michael Carrick is very good at. The Englishmen has been a vital part of Manchester United’s trophy machine for the past five seasons, playing 143 times since his move from Tottenham in 2006.

There can be no doubt that he was one of many reasons why United won the league three times in a row between 2006 and 2009, his superb range of passing creating many goal scoring opportunities.

Since then, though, Carrick has played in a different role. It was a move forced upon Sir Alex by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the best player in the world, and Carlos Tevez in the summer of 2009.

But what hasn’t changed is the quality he brings to the side, it may not be as obvious but just as important as before.

Carrick’s job now is to sit in front of the back four, break up moves and begin an attack for his own team. It’s something which he excels at but is yet criticised by many observers.

Perhaps the stats will explain why he is considered such a valuable member of the team. Not only does he boast the highest amount of interceptions a game at 4.38 but he also has the highest pass success ratio of any starting regular in the league having completed 780 out of 898 attempted passes, in other words 86.9%.

Now, they’re pretty impressive stats by anyones standards but it won’t satisfy some people. The main criticism of Carrick is that, although he passes well, he only passes it backwards or 3 yards.

Not only is this view reactionary but it also comes back to what I stated earlier. Football is all about keeping the ball, it is vital in the modern game. Passing the ball to defenders and fellow midfielders is what you do in order to start moves.

There’s no point of picking the ball up in your own half and then attempting a 40-yard pass which will more than likely fail. Why not keep your composure and simply slide it a few yards to your left or right and slowly create an attack.

Anyway, this view of Carrick is simply not true. Take a look at these graphics below from the Champions League match with Marseille. The chart on the left is particularly interesting as it shows that Carrick completed four out of seven ‘long’ passes and 30 ‘medium’ range passes.

You can also see that from the graphic on the right, Carrick is very willing to play the ball to the wide men, thus allowing for an attack to build.

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Another criticism of Carrick is that he’s not very mobile and stays central. Well again this is simply not true. On Tuesday, he travelled the most distance than any other player on the pitch, 11.5k, emphasizing his superior fitness and desire to succeed.

Add to this that Carrick is very disciplined, having not picked up a single yellow card all season, and you have the complete defensive midfielder. Yes, he may not be as directly involved in goal scoring opportunities as he was in previous years but he is just as important, perhaps more, in his new role.

Maybe a fourth league title in five years since he joined United will convince fans that he is an integral part of the side and will be for years to come.

Written by James Heneghan at the excellent Red Flag Flying High

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Listen to the third episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin, who performs a live version of his cult tribute to Mark Viduka, with Razor on backing vocals!

Edin Dzeko headed the only goal at the DW Stadium as Manchester City regained their three point lead at the top of the Premier League after beating Wigan.

The Bosnian rose headed home David Silva’s left wing free kick to end an 11-game goal drought and put Robert Mancini’s side back ahead of rivals Manchester United in the title race. The Red Devil’s had drawn level on points after beating Bolton on Saturday but Dzeko recovered City’s advantage over the reigning champions ahead of their clash with Tottenham at the weekend. They were made to sweat for victory by plucky Wigan who missed out on the chance to lift themselves off the bottom and leapfrog Blackburn who moved out of the relegation zone on Saturday. Despite defending resolutely they made hardly any impact in the final third of the field as the league leaders recorded their first away win since the start of November.

Consecutive cup defeats had left City reeling going into this game but were boosted by the sight of Silva taking his place in the starting lineup following a stint on the sidelines with an ankle injury. The Spaniards influence was evident from the first whistle and he was involved heavily in most of the visitors play as zipped the ball around the DW although it was Wigan who looked the more likely to score in the opening exchanges. Hugo Rodallega failed to capitalise on a mistake from Joleon Lescott before Jordi Gomez was up in arms after being denied a penalty following a nudge from Gareth Barry in the penalty area. James McArthur then saw his strike deflected wide as City rode an early storm dominating possession. Dzeko headed an early chanced wide from Gael Clichy’s cross but wasn’t to be denied a second time nodding in Silva’s free kick mid-way through the first half for his 13th of the season. The Latic’s did have their moments with Victor Moses firing over and McArthur stinging the palms of Joe Hart although their endeavours forward left them open at the back.

Sergio Aguero couldn’t put the finishing touches to a breathtaking City counterattack just before the break before Ali Al Habsi kept his side in the game with some superb goalkeeping in the second half. The Oman international pulled off a superb double save to keep out Dzeko and then Silva before Aguero dribbled into the box but failed to get an effort away. Wigan were far but out of the game and came close to equalising once again only for Hart to too James McCarthy’s strike wide after  he was played through by Rodallega. The killer second goal just wasn’t going to come for the leaders though as Aguero and Dzeko wasted late chances to put the game beyond doubt. It didn’t matter though as they held on to move clear at the top once again leaving rivals United to play the chasing game.

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Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has stated that it is unlikely that Darren Bent will leave the club in the January transfer window, despite receiving criticism of late.

The England international striker was sighted shopping during the Midlands club’s defeat to Liverpool, whilst the attacker was unavailable through injury.

Despite this, the Scottish coach has stated the importance of Bent to the Villa Park side, and feels he will not leave in the new year.

“I wouldn’t think anybody can afford Darren. I wouldn’t think so,” he told Mirror Football.

“It is very much a kind of juggling of the balls at the moment. We have got to trade carefully so that means I can’t just go into the market without there being a kind of balance.

“But losing a striker of Darren’s ability would be difficult to replace. His goals last season were a vital part of Villa’s season in terms of keeping them up,” he stated.

QPR have been linked with a move for Bent, but McLeish knows the importance of having a proven goalscorer in his side after being relegated with Birmingham last term.

“People say that strikers make the difference in this league.

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“That was something that badly affected Birmingham City last year when we lost Nikola Zigic after the League Cup final and Obafemi Martins breaking his leg was a massive blow to that club,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Perception of FIFA is at an all time low right now. People see football’s international governing body as a corrupt and pompous old boys dictatorship. They are not wrong. After the success of Qatar’s World Cup bid, the accusations of corruption and bribery have further tarnished an already unpopular organisation, prompting talk of smaller federations (such as UEFA) splitting from FIFA, but would this improve the state of the game?

The first thing to know is what FIFA actually does. Every four years it organises the World Cup. Attempting to make it more celebrated and more profitable than the one before. It then spends the next four years reinvesting the money generated from the competition back into football by way of all the other unprofitable world cups such as the Under 20’s, the women’s world cup and so on as well as investing in countless development projects.

Whilst it may be difficult to look past the fact that an organisation with such a responsibility to the game and such vast sums of money, ($2 billion profit from the 2010 World Cup) is in the hands of a select bunch of questionable individuals, it is crucial to see that the international game is actually in a good state right now. Whilst the men who run FIFA may rightly be entrenched in scandal it has still successfully served its purpose of expanding football throughout the globe. Blatter’s recent attempts to host World Cups across the continents have proved successful and the sport has never reached more people (the last World Cup drew 26 billion views).

As an organisation FIFA does a fantastic job of generating vast revenue from the World Cup. Purely from a business perspective it seems foolish to break away from an organisation that is bringing so much money into the international game.

The question is, could the game be run better? There are certainly concerns about how well this money is reinvested and the percentage that goes back into the game but it is fair to say that due to the relentless expansion of the World Cup they now pump more money back into the game than ever before with $700 million set aside for development projects over the next four years.

I am aware that all this makes me sound like a staunch supporter of FIFA. I am not. Their exploitation of the bidding process and the control they exert over the host nation is deplorable. The cries for dramatic reform of the bidding process and the committee members are entirely justified. However, if you look beneath the dirty top layer there is an incredibly successful machine operating underneath. Splitting away from it just because of the dodgy goings on at the top would be a very extreme and potentially costly decision.

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Arsenal goalkeeper Lucasz Fabianski has admitted that he may leave Arsenal in the next transfer window, as opportunities in the Emirates first-team are becoming limited for the stopper.

The Poland international has had to play second fiddle to countryman Wojciech Szczesny for the bulk of this campaign, after a number of high-profile blunders cost him his place in the team.

The 26-year-old is motivated in trying to win the number one jersey back, but has admitted he will have to wait and see what happens in January.

“It is really difficult. Of course not playing doesn’t make me happy. I want to play, that’s my goal,” he told Mirror Football.

“But as well, sometimes you have to be patient. Like I said, I am just fighting, fighting.

“If there is an opportunity, I want to play as well as I can and help the team. We will see what happens.

“At the moment, I focus on Arsenal. There is still time until January, almost two months. We will see what happens.

“I am going to keep fighting for the place. Wojciech is doing well, but I have to fight, work hard and see what happens,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Liverpool have been told that they will not sign Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita in January according to the player,  however the Mali international refused to rule out a move in the summer according to the The Sun.

Keita; who has a £90million buy-out-clause in his contract, has struggled to establish himself as a regular at the Nou Camp since his £14million move from Sevilla in 2008; seemed keen to move away from the Catalan club but not until the season is finished.

Liverpool stated their interest in the 31-year-old midfielder earlier this month and although Keita was flattered by the interest and was keen to praise the Premier League, he could not see a January move happening.

Just nine appearances in the first four months of the season and the arrival of Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal in the summer have prompted the Mali midfielder to discuss his future.

Keita said: “Liverpool are a great club and it is fantastic to hear they are interested in me but you know how I feel about Barcelona.

“But we are in football and nothing is an absolute, so let’s wait until the end of the season.

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“I want to play more games and the Premier League is very attractive and exciting for anyone.”

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The writing has been firmly scrawled on the walls at St James’ Park for some time now. It’s just a matter of when not if Jose Enrique will leave Newcastle United for pastures new. The Spaniard has continually refused to sign a new contract with his current deal ending next summer. He’s also decided to criticize the club on twitter, which can only be a ploy to hasten his move away from Tyneside. It looks like he’s off to Liverpool but if a transfer doesn’t materialise will he be welcomed back with open arms?

In his four years at the club he has improved dramatically as a footballer and matured into one of the best left backs in the country. Trying to hold onto him has been a chore although you can’t knock him for being ambitious. It’s no lie when I say that it will be a long time before Newcastle United win a trophy again, that’s a cold hard fact. Enrique craves silver wear and if he didn’t I’d think he were as unambitious as our current owner. He wants to perform at the very top and he certainly has the ability to do so.

It’s common knowledge that he’s repeatedly spurned the advances of the club as they try to convince him his future lies on Tyneside. However I do believe there is a way back for Enrique solely due to his status as a favourite with the Geordie faithful. As I’ve said his performances have been marvellous over the last few years not to mention he stuck with the club after the disastrous relegation season. A year in the Championship was the making of the man affectionately known as ‘The Bull’.

He coped superbly with the tougher climate of England’s second league and turned it up a notch last season on our return to the Premier League. His form and general love for the club endeared him and fans took him to their hearts. They now see him is one of their own. I’ve no doubt that if he went round to a fans house and asked for his clothes to be washed the matriarch would simply suggest he put them in the laundry basket with the others.

The fans adore players who play well, love the club and show commitment when things threaten to go South. Even his twitter rants last week have been excused because what he said connected with the thoughts that are already flowing from those in and around St James’ Park. Even the management can’t fault his comments even if  it was foolish to air them over a social network notorious for igniting trouble with footballers. They know he is the best left back we’ve had since the days of John Beresford and they can’t hold him back if he wants to play at a club challenging for honours. We’re simply not competing at the level that Enrique strives to be at. Both the fans and management understand that.

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Personally I wouldn’t have him back simply because of his desire to force a move away from the club. I like Jose and I think he’s a fantastic footballer but the fact that he held off negotiations for months and didn’t bother to inform the club of his desire to leave was wrong. Even on the pitch his form stunk of a man who’s passion for the club was waning rapidly. Gone were the lung bursting bolts up the left replaced with frigid meanders that barely penetrated half way. Moving him on as soon as possible and bringing in a replacement that wants to play for the club should be on Alan Pardew, Derek Llambias and Mike Ashley’s mind.

There is no doubt that the fans would welcome back Enrique forgetting about his rants on twitter and determination to leave the club that gave him his chance in the Premier League in the process. Whether he’ll be staying is another issue. I firmly believe he’ll be trotting down the Anfield left wing come the first whistle of the new Premier League season.

This week Ashley Young finalised a move to Premier League champions Manchester United in a deal worth in the region of £17 million and a weekly salary of a colossal £130,000. Ashley Young is highly rated and was considered the star at Aston Villa before his switch, but is Ashley Young overrated and a victim of the ‘hype machine’ that exists for exciting young English talent? In this article I will argue that, despite his impressive talent, Ashley Young is overrated and not an upgrade on the exciting Nani and the returning Antonio Valencia .

Ashley Young burst onto the Premier League scene with Watford in 2006 and had an impressive season which earned him a move to Aston Villa for a reported £8 million fee. Many thought this was overpriced for the young winger at the time, but Young paid back this trust with a large number of goals and assists for his new club nearly firing them into the Champions League in 2009 only to be overtaken by Arsenal late into the season. Ashley Young has matured into a very competent winger who is equally adept at playing on either wing which will serve him well at Old Trafford if he is to successful oust either Valencia or Nani from the starting line ups.

Whilst I believe that £17 million and weekly wages of £130,000 is ridiculously excessive for a player like Ashley Young one can’t doubt his durability, his strength and his experience of playing in the Premier League week in and week out. Over the last 4 seasons Young’s league appearances have been very impressive, with 37 league starts in 2007/8, 36 league starts in 2008/9, 37 league starts in 2009/10 and 34 league starts in 2010/11. These remarkable stats show that Ashley Young has only missed 8 league games in 4 years and has averaged 36 league games a season over that time. His injury record is thus very attractive to Manchester United who will know that Young isn’t likely to be in the treatment room all season like the rather unfortunate Owen Hargreaves.

Nigel Reo-Coker was gushing with his praise for the winger this week when asked about what Ashley Young could offer a team such as Manchester United, saying:

“I’m sure Ashley can live up to expectations and deliver for the United fans, who will love him.

People have said United are lacking a bit of flair and creativity, since Ronaldo left.

I think that is something he will definitely add to Manchester United.

He has great vision and I am sure he will create a lot of goals for them, as well as scoring himself.”

I would agree with Reo-Coker to an extent, Ashley Young on form can be a genuinely exciting player to watch yet far too often I feel he flatters to deceive. In the league last season Young created 10 assists and scored 7 goals himself whilst taking the penalties. The season before Young assisted 7 goals and scored 5 himself. If we compare this to the much maligned Andrei Arshavin at Arsenal we see that these stats aren’t all that impressive for a player on a reported £130,000 a week. Arshavin only started 25 games in the Premier League in comparison to Young’s 34 games yet he still managed to create 11 assists and score 6 goals.

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All in all I feel Ashley Young is a decent squad player at a club like Manchester United and will probably enjoy a decent level of success there, yet some of the hyperbole surrounding his signing is verging on the insane with comparisons to the ultra-effective Ronaldo completely unjustified. Whether Young enjoys a successful career at Old Trafford remains to be seen, but one feels he doesn’t justify the fee or wages currently on offer.

Article courtesy of George McNeil at This is Futbol

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Hard-Fi, the guests of the first Football FanCast video show of the season (which you can watch here), have just released their third album, ‘Killer Sounds’. Following on from ‘Stars of CCTV’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’, ‘Killer Sounds’ is Hard-Fi’s latest offering and we’re giving you the opportunity to win a copy of the album signed by lead singer Richard Archer and drummer Steve Kemp in our Hard-Fi competition.

The four-piece have been busy working on their third studio album for the past eighteen months, which was released last month. The album was co-produced by the band’s frontman, Richard Archer, with assistance from big names such as Stuart Price (Killers, Madonna), Grey Kurstin (Lily Allen) and Alan Moulder (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Killers) and recorded in Cherry Lips Studios as well as Los Angeles.

Following a triumphant return to Glastonbury 2011 to headline the Leftfield Stage, four years after their last appearance at the festival, Hard-Fi plan to play a string of shows in September. The tour kicks off in Norwich on September 21 and includes a sold-out London Forum show on September 23. Tickets are continuing to sell fast and are not to be missed. With the band’s million-selling debut ‘Stars of CCTV’, the number 1 follow-up ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’ and two BRIT award nominations (2006’s ‘Best British Group’ and ‘Best British Rock Act’) already under their belts, Hard-Fi are set to reign the charts once again.

See what Richard and Steve have to say about their love of football…

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To win a signed copy of ‘Killer Sounds’ answer this simple question…

Where are Hard-Fi originally from?

A) Aldershot

B) Staines

C) Slough

To enter this fantastic competition, email your answer to [email protected]

The competition closes on Monday 26th September at 9am so make sure you get your answers in now!

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Here’s Razor asking Richard and Steve some (not so) quickfire questions…

Inter Milan came from a goal down to beat Cesena 2-1 on Saturday, keeping the Serie A title race alive until the next round of fixtures.Inter trailed through Igor Budan’s 55th minute goal at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi and looked to be heading for defeat until substitute Giampaolo Pazzini struck to level the scores in the 91st minute.

The striker netted again five minutes into injury time to secure an unlikely comeback victory for the defending champions.

Inter, second in the table, are five points behind league leaders Milan, who play Bologna at home on Sunday.

With three rounds of the season still to come, even if Milan beat Bologna they must wait until next weekend at the earliest to secure their first Scudetto since 2004.

In Saturday’s other match, third-placed Napoli beat Genoa 1-0 to secure their first win in three matches.

Slovak Marek Hamsik scored the winner for Napoli with eight minutes remaining at the Stadio Sao Paolo.

Napoli are six points behind Milan and one back from Inter, but hold an eight-point buffer ahead of fourth-placed Lazio.