In what is clearly a PR stunt to show the world how Manchester City plan to use their New York City franchise in the coming years, Frank Lampard was officially announced as a City player today.
Chelsea’s all-time top goal scorer once insisted that he would never play for another Premier League club once he eventually left the Blues. But, in an inevitable but extremely weird twist in his career, he’s joined the Premier League champions on loan until the new MLS season in the New Year.
This has prompted an expected reaction of sadness amongst the Chelsea fans who adored him and excitement amongst the City fans who are basking in the knowledge that their club can literally tempt whoever they want to sign up to their money-fuelled success story.
Here are some of the best tweets as the news initially broke and the first images of him wearing City training gear emerged this afternoon…
The theme is the same: the selling club shouldn’t be selling, and the buyer, Manchester United, are parting with an extraordinary amount of money in order to take advantage of a situation that has long pointed to an eventual sale.
Just as Chelsea had been crying out for Juan Mata’s invention during the first half of last season (and certainly for periods during the second half of the campaign), Real Madrid lacked the spark and drive of Angel Di Maria in their loss over two legs to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, with the midfielder only seeing limited minutes during the first leg.
There isn’t enough contrast to the styles of Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in Real’s midfield. It’s to an extent that there really shouldn’t be a need for all three, and if three in the midfield is Carlo Ancelotti’s choice (which might not be the case upon Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to full fitness), the team need someone notably different who can roam and create further up the pitch.
If Gareth Bale had generated doubt about Di Maria’s future at the Bernabeu, James Rodriguez’s arrival following the World Cup made sure that not only did the Argentine not have a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s team, but his sale was now a necessity, with James having cost the European Champions £63 million from Monaco.
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The Spanish side are set to recoup that now, with Manchester United the direct beneficiaries of Paris Saint-Germain’s inability to shake the grip of Financial Fair Play.
His requirement isn’t immediately clear at Old Trafford, but that doubt washes away seamlessly at the thought of Louis van Gaal converting to a 4-3-3 on a regular basis – which, even with his reluctance, he may have to do. United have lacked a truly world-class presence on the wings since Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid in 2009. It’s about time they addressed an area of the attack that has proven to be such a hallmark of the team’s success over the past two decades.
And what a lift Di Maria will provide to the club. It’s telling that Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos reportedly requested for Real Madrid to keep hold of the Argentine this summer, such is his importance and improvement in the Spanish capital. He stood out in the Champions League final in Lisbon in May; he starred against Barcelona, tearing down the Catalans’ right flank in their league clash at the Bernabeu in March, and scoring in the Copa del Rey final against their heated rivals; and he registered 17 assists in the league alone last season.
A major criticism aimed at United is that they haven’t always bought big, signing players that would support the notion that this club is England’s equivalent to the might of Real Madrid. Juan Mata’s signing served more of a purpose for off-field failings; Di Maria will do the same, but there is no doubt that the parting of such a fee for a genuinely world-class talent is what United need at this time to improve their uninspiring on-pitch performances.
United’s league opener at home to Swansea was proof that this team isn’t ready yet for a move to a back three with wing-backs. The personnel simply aren’t good enough. The Dutch-flavoured 4-3-3, however, will bring positive results based on those available to the manager.
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Argentina’s use of Di Maria in the centre of midfield at the World Cup supported Ancelotti’s initial conversion of the winger to a more central role. If Marcos Rojo was bought to play on the left of a back three, he should be able to play as the left-sided centre-back in a back four. And if rumours are to be believed that the club are looking to tie up a deal for Daley Blind from Ajax, van Gaal will have three first choice pieces in Blind, Ander Herrera and Di Maria to effectively play three in the middle.
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Real Madrid are losing a player they don’t have elsewhere in the team, whereas Isco can comfortably substitute James, and, as mentioned Alonso, Modric and Kroos serve similar roles.
On the receiving end is Manchester United. I have no doubt that the club have stumbled upon this deal, rather than it being the product of any long-term thinking. But there will only be positives to take from a deal that will shatter the club’s previous transfer record.
Saido Berahino has enjoyed a good start to the season with West Bromwich Albion – which has only been made better by his call-up to the England squad – but the time has come for the young striker to think about where best to further his career.
It won’t be the first time in an England shirt for Berahino, who has warranted a senior call-up following a fantastic record for the Under 21’s. His scoring record at this level is only bettered by Francis Jeffers (who sadly never delivered on his promise) and Alan Shearer (who most certainly did). Saido netted 10 goals in his 13 appearances for the England Under-21’s side, prolific no doubt.
Berahino wasn’t born in this country but in fact was born in Burundi. However his family was offered refuge by the UK to avoid a bloody civil war in his home country. He has subsequently said that he will never reject any international call from the country that saved his life as a kind of thank you.
It’s hard to dislike Berahino, especially when he shows a passion to play for the country that so many natives don’t. It’s especially hard when he’s the top scoring Englishman in the Premier League at this current moment.
Saido may well get his first cap for his country against either Scotland or Slovenia during this international break, and if he does, I’m sure it will be the proudest moment in his and his family’s lives.
The 21-year-old is still very much in the early part of his career, but he must already begin planning when he wants to make the move away from West Brom. It’s inevitable that a young player who is showing his level of ability will move on to bigger things. By no means are The Baggies a bad club, but it’s not a place where dreams come true – which can be said for most teams in Premier League.
The work that West Brom have put into him since he joined the youth system in 2004 shouldn’t be undervalued. He has managed to climb through the ranks and is now arguably the clubs most influential player.
It’s the timing of his move away which is the crucial part. If he agrees to a move away too early in his career he may not get the game time necessary and end up wasting his talent on a substitute bench near you.
Many claimed that Theo Walcott had moved too early away from Southampton, but after a slow start, and despite many injuries, he’s grown as a player just fine. Also, Wayne Rooney moved away from his boyhood club Everton aged just 18, and he’s about to captain the national side as he earns his 100th international cap – not bad.
On the contrary you can cite the examples of Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell, both promising English youth prospects, whose respective moves to Man City led them to never really fulfilling their promise.
There’s no reason why Berahino can’t stay with The Baggies for another three or four seasons, or even for the entirety of his career. Plenty of players have done that in the past, but the chance of him progressing further as a player may suffer.
He obviously owes a lot to West Brom, as well as England, and due to his good nature he may choose to dedicate his career to the club that gave him his breakthrough. However, ambition may get in the way of this. Ambition and the wills of Liverpool and Tottenham.
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I hope for his sake that the West Brom fans appreciate that his ambitions are beyond their club. His call-up to the England squad is richly deserved, and it is credit to the player that he has already managed this at 21, however it’s timing that’s really important now.
I sincerely hope Berahino makes the right decision and goes on to restore the nation’s pride in our national team.
It’s strange how the state of English football can change in such a short period of time. Prior to the World Cup, the competition for England’s fourth striking spot seemed relatively uncompetitive.
That isn’t to slate or undermine Rickie Lambert as a player last year, far from it – he managed 13 goals and 10 assists in Mauricio Pochettino’s impressive Southampton campaign. For a player peaking so late in his career there was almost a fairytale aspect to it, a rags to riches-esque affair that would provide inspiration for those plying their trade in the depths of the football league.
But for Lambert’s merits that season, there really was a lack of competition for the fourth spot behind Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge. Jay Rodriguez picked up a nasty anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out of contention entirely, Andy Carroll was crippled by injuries until February and failed to return to form in time, and Jermaine Defoe migrated his way out of contention when he joined Toronto FC.
It would be difficult to assert that the situation has changed drastically in the sense that when fit, Rooney, Sturridge and Welbeck will almost certainly be selected. But that fourth spot now seems more contested than ever, and here’s who Roy Hodgson should select out of the in-form Carroll, Harry Kane, Saido Berahino and Charlie Austin.
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There’s always an interesting selection process for forwarding players to international level. Many will select purely on the form of a player domestically- if they slip up in the Premier League then they deserve to be dropped for England.
But that should not be the case- domestic and international form are not entirely conducive. Take Andros Townsend, for example. He’s failed to nail down a spot at Tottenham permanently, yet has far out-performed himself at international level.
That argument translates nicely with Berahino – he has the third all-time highest goal-tally for England’s U21’s with 10 goals in 13 appearances, only behind Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers, which would suggest that he may excel on a bigger stage in the unique environment that international football demands.
However, Berahino’s problem is that his style is too similar to that of Daniel Sturridge – both are pacey – last-man-off-the-shoulder goalscorers and there’s no doubting that Sturridge is superior. Berahino shows promise, but his inconsistent form of one goal in his last ten shows there’s more work to be done.
After all, young international promise doesn’t always translate to when in the senior squad- Francis Jeffers’ gradual demise is the most damning example of that.
Nine in nine for Charlie Austin is seriously impressive, and he’s knocking loudly on the international door when few would have predicted.
Austin has followed an interesting trend similar to that of Lambert, that lower-league strikers can slowly ascend up the football league and maintain their outstanding form. Before Lambert there was Grant Holt, who netted 15 in his debut season in Paul Lambert’s Norwich team, and before him Palace’s Andy Johnson slotted 22 in his first year.
Austin has that goalscoring touch, something that you cannot coach or train upon- an impressive aptitude to be in the right place at the right time.
However, his limitations resolve from around his apparent reliance on Bobby Zamora to hold the ball up for him- he’s only scored once when he hasn’t been partnered with him.
If Austin, by that logic, is reliant on being paired alongside a physical striker to perform, he won’t really be compatible with England or Hodgson, where they often line up in a 4-2-3-1 with Rooney operating from deep.
That said, if he manages to maintain this fine run of form, it would be hard to keep him out. Lots of potential, but for now, Austin needs to prove his class really is permanent and his form is not just temporary.
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An impressive run in Tottenham’s second tier Europa League side made the Hurri-Kane’s breaking into the Tottenham first team inevitable.
On the surface he looks like an archetypal-aerial striker, capable of holding the ball up for midfield runners and making a nuisance of himself in the six yard box. But watch him more closely see how he’s actually a very complete player.
When partnered with Roberto Soldado, Kane drops deep into midfield where he possesses the audacity of a player much older than him to take the ball on and run at opposition defenders. He combines that with the distinctive characteristics of any Pochettino side- that of intense and dynamic pressing which keeps his side on the front foot.
Kane’s rise has been spectacular this season, but he falls short of being in Roy Hodgson’s squad – at this moment.
Andy Carroll deserves that title – but only at this very moment in time. That should be emphasised – Berahino and Kane are both young with plenty of potential while Austin will have to be picked if he maintains his blistering goalscoring form.
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Primarily, it is the type of player that Carroll offers to the table – he’s in no better form than Austin or Kane, but he brings a physical presence that offers Hodgson a tactical alternative.
That should in no way be understated. When you think of the reasons for Vicente del Bosque’s incredible success with Spain from 2008-2012, it is often overlooked how he could field subtle yet effective tactical variations when tika-taka failed. Jesus Navas as a touchline-hugging winger would often come on for David Silva to stretch out a congested midfield, while Fernando Llorente played a pivotal role in offering an aerial threat when David Villa or Fernando Torres failed to make an impact.
Go back to their knockout games throughout and those two frequently made key differences in big games. Hodgson has to have different options available to him to make England their best, and Carroll offers an aerial threat above that of Kane.
His goal against Sweden at Euro 2012, a fantastic header, is an apt example to show how Hodgson used height to open up a small Swedish back four to some success.
For the time being Carroll edges Kane in offering the finest quality for that particular skill. But given how impressive Kane’s rapid development has been, Carroll will know he needs to be consistent to hold down that position.
With so many options available to him and Daniel Sturridge injured, it will be interesting to see who he judges to be the best candidate to improve the current England squad.
Arsene Wenger’s never been particularly fond of the January transfer window. He’s spent, on average, just £3.6million per window since it’s incarnation eleven years ago – with Jose Antonio Reyes and Andrei Arshavin constituting his only noteworthy winter signings as Arsenal boss – and has even discussed the notion of eradicating it completely on rare occasions.
So Wenger’s hints of new faces arriving in the New Year must be music to the ears of Arsenal fans. In the decade since they last won the Premier League title, countless campaigns have gone to waste when many felt the right mid-season addition could propel the Gunners closer towards the English crown.
Take last term for example – the Gunners held pole position in January and that momentum opened them up to a new area of the transfer market, but the only addition came in the uninspiring form of Kim Kallstrom, who made just three substitute appearances in north London before returning back to Spartak Moscow, almost unnoticed.
This January, Wenger’s first and likely only port of call will be to add to his defence, which is clearly a few bodies short right now. In the almost eternal absence of Laurent Koscielney, Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Debuchy, two full-backs who measure in at just 5 foot 10, have both been called upon to fill in at the heart of defence for extended periods. Incredibly, the former – by all means, a left-back famed more for his attacking qualities – has made four times the amount of Premier League appearances at centre-back this season, 8, than at No.3.
Many will argue that compared to the Arsenal gaffer’s usual stubbornness on such issues, this is a cause for some mild celebration, especially amid the festive period. There’s only one, rather simple, problem however; failing to identify the need for another defender during the summer has already cost Arsenal their shot at the Premier League title for at least another season.
Why Wenger allowed Arsenal to enter the season with one defender last year is, quite frankly, beyond me. It’s a simple numbers game; Thomas Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna and Carl Jenkinson going out, Calum Chambers and Mathieu Debuchy, two signings that hardly improve upon what the north Londoners had before, coming in.
The Gunners’ defensive depth was tested on enough occasions last season to suggest another centre-half wouldn’t go amiss, and although Arsenal have been plagued with injury crises this year, in part a consequence of the summer’s World Cup, that’s a situation Wenger should have anticipated – this is hardly the first Arsenal campaign riddled with injuries.
It’s not as if there weren’t options out there this summer. Take Toby Alderweireld for example, who made it publicly known as early as January 2014 that he would seek a move away from Atletico Madrid in the summer. Versatile and experienced at Champions League and international level, the Belgian centre-back would have been an ideal signing for the Gunners. Instead, he’s on loan at Southampton this term, who currently boast the healthiest goals against column in the Premier League.
Then there’s the clan of contract rebel centre-backs Arsenal have been linked with ahead of the January window, namely Winston Reid, Fabian Schar and Ron Vlaar. It’s all well and good waiting six months until their respective clubs have little option but to sell, yet the absence of a back-up centre-half has already cost the Gunners so dearly this term. Conceding sloppy goals, often from winning positions, is a responsibility the whole team must share together, but one can only ponder the positive influence the presence of a natural centre-half could have made this term – particularly amid defeats to Swansea City and Stoke City, in addition to disappointing draws against Liverpool and Hull.
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Of course, there will always be other seasons and playing the short game in the transfer market rarely breeds long term success, either on the pitch or financially. Having spent the last decade as the Premier League title race’s nearly men however, Arsenal fans are tired of waiting for ‘next year’. It also makes that £83million spent in the summer, constituting the most expensive transfer window in Arsenal’s history – not to mention the the £35million signing of Alexis Sanchez, rather pointless – considering none of that money was spent on addressing Arsenal’s most immediate problems. That money should have awoken Arsenal from their dormant state in the title race.
So now another defender will arrive in January, but for once, rather ironically, Wenger may as well wait until the summer. Arsenal’s title bid is already over – Chelsea are already 15 points ahead of them – and the chances are that better options will become available at the end of the season. Almost as if it was somehow intentional, Wenger’s created the perfect excuse not to buy.
In an era of financial fair play (FFP) and elite financial dominance for a select group of ‘superclubs’ , it would be fair to assume that, just like for the last decade, the same bracket of teams will dominate the English Premier League for years to come. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham (and Everton to a lesser extent) exercise financial muscle that allows them to maintain their strength year-on-year.
Whilst all of these teams are slowly starting to generate profits in this new era of FFP, of all teams in that superlative category, Manchester City would appear to be approaching the most testing of futures.
The Swiss Ramble’s in-depth blog on City’s finances largely concludes that City are firmly ‘on track’ in their ‘masterplan’ to begin breaking even soon, with respectable profits forecast for seasons to come. Chief executive Ferran Soriano suspects that they’ve reached a ‘new level of financial sustainability’.
That sounds especially positive and good from that perspective, but when you consider two further factors surrounding the club with these finances, the immediate future isn’t so straightforward.
Firstly, this Manchester City team is old. Really old. You talk of how teams go through cycles (Ferguson supposedly ‘built’ five teams in his 26-year tenure at Old Trafford), eventually winding down as they expire from their peak. This team will need freshening up at its core to stay competitive, and of England’s superpowers, City are nearest to that recycling point.
Pablo Zabaleta is 30, Gael Clichy is 29, Vincent Kompany 28, Yaya Toure 31, Fernandinho 29, David Silva 29, James Milner 29, Jesus Navas 29. Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala and Sergio Aguero are the only starting players at a respectable age.
Either way, at an average of around 29.1 (the oldest in the Premier League), this team will need a significant overhaul to get it revamped and competitive.
The problem is, building a team from scratch will cost hundreds of millions, which will test City’s financial strength to the max. I criticised the decadent outlay of Wilfried Bony (and received a fair amount of stick for it), because I felt £30m was far too much for a potentially peripheral figure to Sergio Aguero. The general rebuttal that my detractors pointed to was to outline that the current market demands figures of that magnitude for proven, guaranteed quality.
Fair. But if Bony costs £30m, what will another Yaya Toure, David Silva or Vincent Kompany amount to? And they’re not the only players that need replacing long-term. To overhaul this squad will require Man City to sell some valuable assets and deal in the transfer markets astutely. But an ageing squad will hardly bring in huge capital to supplement a spending spree.
If you look at Chelsea’s transfer dealings, they’ve managed to invest while selling really competently to stay financially healthy (De Bruyne, Andre Schurrle, Romlelu Lukaku, David Luiz and Juan Mata has brought in around £140m in the past two years). City will surely have to do the same.
Contextualising this with a long-term perspective hits the nail on the head, and it’s something that Gary Neville strongly alluded to after City’s 0-2 defeat to Arsenal.
That is, even if Man City do manage to recycle this team without breaching FFP regulations and maintaining competitive, will they kick onto European superiority like they really should be doing?
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Despite all of their recent success, this team has plateaued. They’re an excellent domestic team, but they’re still very much on the periphery of Europe’s very elite. They haven’t kicked on since their first domestic success in 2012. And for a team that’s had nearing on a billion pounds invested in them, is that a good enough return?
Overall, it’s the combination of those three factors that paints a slightly darker future for this ageing team. Essentially, if City do manage to recycle their team against that backdrop of financial regulations, will they be able to construct a team that can compete with Europe’s biggest teams?
It’s by no means impossible, but with all things considered, it’s easy to look at Manchester City as perhaps the biggest English team with the most precarious immediate future.
Now in their 7th Premier League season, Stoke City have established themselves as a fixture of English top flight football. They now sit only seven points behind media darlings Southampton with ten games to go. But the negative attitude towards The Potters’ accomplishments go on, why?
It is of little doubt when Stoke were promoted, under former boss Tony Pulis, they played a style which suited their personnel. Physical and uncompromising, effective but at times, unpleasant to watch.
The mini climate at the Britannia Stadium has always been used as a measuring stick for any player. ‘Good, but could they do it on a wet and windy night in Stoke?’
The phrase is still tirelessly churned out to this day, even though the modern day Stoke City is an entirely different animal to the one that Pulis bought up and established in the top division.
Where once the powerful Mamady Sidibe, would flick on the trademark Rory Delap missiles. It is now Mame Biram Diouf, finishing off a through ball from the mercurial Bojan.
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Mark Hughes has transformed his side into one whom can play good, aesthetically pleasing football, but still mix it with the best as and when they need to.
With a run in, that on paper looks like one that could reap a lot of points, Stoke City have a very realistic chance of breaking their own points record. Hughes is in a period of serious progression for the Potters, but the old stereotypes still persist.
Even in the summer, something as simple as transfer fees were wildly over exaggerated. Figures were banded around that were nowhere near the actual facts. Stats to show how compared to the brilliant Southampton, they have thrown money around. Nothing of the sort.
Although, they haven’t reached the dazzling highs that Southampton did earlier in the season, they now seem poised to not only match the Saints, but to overtake them. However, few column inches have been filled with the rise of Stoke City, few column inches are filled with calls for Stoke players to be drafted into the England side.
Praising Stoke is still seen as an admission you like the ‘dark side’ of the game, but it is coming to a time when those old clichés involving them, hold fewer and fewer truths. Yes, they can still ‘mix it’, but what side doesn’t? It is almost impossible to expect any side, bar the real world class outfits to not play football to suit their players.
Mark Hughes has not only rebuilt his own reputation, following his disastrous spell at QPR, but is in the process of transforming the reputation of the Midlands club.
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Come May, for all the plaudits and adulation of Ronald Koeman’s Southamton side, it may be Stoke City who finish top of the rest in this season’s top flight.
I’m sure the fans of The Potters, may be happy to go quietly under the radar.
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Southampton sit sandwiched between Liverpool and Tottenham only five points adrift of the Champions League places. And although it seems unlikely that the Saints will be able to make up the deficit it is still possible.
Liverpool who are just a point in front are the team everyone believes can still challenge for the honour with Spurs outsiders, but I believe that it is Ronald Koeman’s men who deserve to break into the top four more than those two.
Both Spurs and Liverpool tend to compete season after season for those precious four places and while they have achieved their goal in the last few years it is always followed by a disappointing campaign.
Liverpool finished last season just two points away from winning the title after a blazing Premier League campaign which saw their affectionately termed SAS trio named as the best attacking line up of the year. Luis Suarez’s massive goals tally was a big reason why the Reds achieved so much last season and his departure proved costly. But that was Liverpool’s mistake. They didn’t plan well for the loss of Suarez and have been punished for that failure all season.
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Tottenham’s problem has been their numerous disappointing players who they continually fail to offload. Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado and Paulinho were all brought into White Hart Lane under Andre Villas-Boas but have never reached the highs expected of them. Since his appointment last summer manager Mauricio Pochettino has made the Lilywhites more solid and they are fortunate to have the talented young forward Harry Kane in the squad as they’d be utterly lost without his influence.
But the Saints still deserve to finish above them as they have been punching above their weight all year holding on even when key players were losing confidence. Southampton under Koeman have shown a huge amount of courage to overcome the summer exodus of key players such as Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw who joined so called bigger clubs in a desperate bid for trophies and higher wages.
Southampton still have a few difficult games before the end of their season notably welcoming top four challengers Tottenham to St Mary’s and a trip to the Etihad on the final day. Considering that the Saints have won three of their last five shows that they are looking to end their campaign strongly and a Europa League position is the very least that they deserve.
And if that is the tournament they get then it will still be a triumph for a team which finished 8 last season and that no one expected to stand a chance of even making it that high this time around. Maybe a run in the Europa League would be a good introduction to European football before attempting an assault on the main tournament. Right now they’re on course to do just that and Ronald Koeman and his men should be proud to have proved all of the doubters wrong.
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Be they employed in League Two or La Liga, the Champions League or the Championship, every manager’s greatest strength than also be their fatal flaw; a double-edged sword, a blessing and a curse, that at some point proves their ultimate undoing.
Take Jose Mourinho, for example. His functional philosophy and pragmatic approach has won this season’s title, but last year it cost Chelsea during a Premier League campaign in which two clubs, for the first time in the competition’s history, scored more than 100 league goals. Or Pep Guardiola, considered by many to be the best in the business; tiki-taka and ever-changing formations created the greatest club side the world has ever seen at Barcelona, but last night it lead to Bayern Munich’s annihilation by his former club.
And it’s not just limited to the realms of footballing ideology. Newcastle fans bemoaned Alan Pardew’s substitutions for years, but the Magpies would probably be in the relegation zone right now if the former Toon manager’s introductions from the bench hadn’t clinched a series of winners at the start of the season.
Manchester United’s Louis van Gaal is no different. He too, is paradoxically plagued by the same defining gifts that made him so successful at Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich – particularly, his tactical tinkering.
For such a colourful character, the Dutchman is decisively reserved during actual matches. Whilst some managers patrol their technical areas for a full ninety minutes and others jump from their seats before slumping back into them, LVG tends to sit there calm and collected, cross-referencing his notes with the action in front of him.
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On the pitch, however, United are continually changing. They switch from back fours to back threes, push members of the front-line into midfield and vice versa, and rotate Wayne Rooney through seemingly every position with the exclusion of centre-half. It creates a continuous veil of confusion; but tends to perplex the Red Devils as much as it does the opposition.
Overall, I’ve been impressed with van Gaal’s tinkering this season. His introduction of Marouane Fellaini against West Bromwich Albion in October, quickly resulting in a goal from the Belgian battering ram, and his decision to switch to a back four against QPR in January – albeit, at the behest of the travelling United support – particularly coming to mind.
Likewise, his tactical decisions proved inspired at last summer’s World Cup. He created a functioning 3-5-2 out of a Netherlands team that had never attempted the system before before, utilising winger Arjen Robben as a centre-forward and striker Dirk Kuyt as a right wing-back, whilst Daley Blind played just about everywhere. Even the novel idea of substituting on a goalkeeper – Newcastle’s Tim Krul – for a penalty shoot-out paid off dividends, seeing Oranje surpass Chile into the semi-finals.
Recently, however, amid a run of three games without victory, van Gaal’s tinkering has unquestionably cost United. Staring into the face of defeat against Chelsea three weeks ago, he subbed off Juan Mata, arguably United’s most in-form player prior to the fixture, for Adnan Januzaj, a winger who is yet to record any output in 17 Premier League appearances this season, whilst Luke Shaw, the only United player to truly penetrate the space behind Chelsea’s defence for the entire 90 minutes, exited the fray for Tyler Blackett, a centre-back almost incomparable to the England international through his lack of attacking flair and dynamism.
Likewise, last weekend’s defeat to West Brom produced the bizarre situation of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie playing behind Maroaune Fellaini, the midfielder’s height and power seen more essential to conquering the Baggies’ backline than two strikers ranked third and tenth respectively in the Premier League’s all-time scoring charts. Unsurprisingly, United failed to score, instead finding themselves rather chaotic, confused and static in the final third.
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It’s not gone down well with a significant portion of the Red Devils faithful. #LVGOut is unlikely to make a reappearance on Twitter any time soon, but some have grown frustrated with the United gaffer’s seemingly illogical, perpetual tinkering. It’s not a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth; rather, the one cook determined to use as many differing seasonings as possible – to the extent it’s become dogmatic.
But just as it’s been United’s undoing in recent weeks, at some point, van Gaal’s counter-intuitive tactics will prove the inspiration for victory, as it has already on many occasions this season. No manager can get it right every time; the real test is whether over the course of his three-year Red Devils contract, LVG’s approach gains United more points – and hopefully more trophies – than it loses them.
Last week came news of Tottenham Hotspur preparing a £20million bid for Christian Benteke. In terms of style, stature and quality, he’s exactly what the Lilywhites need. The only problem is that their rumoured bid has come two years too late.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, yet I can’t help but wonder what might’ve been if Spurs signed the Aston Villa striker (as I had suggested) in summer 2013. That was the transfer window in which the funds from Gareth Bale’s record-breaking departure to Real Madrid were supposed to make Tottenham’s flirtatious relationship with the Premier League’s top four a permanent one; instead, it condemned them to three different managers in the space of six months and two more years of Europa League football.
Benteke was there for the taking in summer 2013. He’d just bagged 19 goals during his debut Premier League campaign – his highest total for a domestic season to date – and resultantly handed in a transfer request at Villa Park. Rumours poured in of interest from White Hart Lane, but eventually Daniel Levy and Co. found Villa’s £25million valuation too rich for their blood.
Instead, Spurs invested £26million in Roberto Soldado, in comparison a considerably more proven goalscorer with a collective return of 128 goals in 251 appearances throughout his spells with Osasuna, Getafe and Valencia.
Yet, the two have gone on to enjoy (or endure in the latter’s case) completely polarised Premier League careers. Benteke boasts 42 goals in 88 league outings for the Villains; Soldado has managed just seven in 52 for the Lilywhites – four of which have come from the penalty spot.
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No doubt, the Spain international is as talented a goalscorer as Benteke – perhaps even more so if we’re talking purely in terms of technique in front of goal. But the intrinsic difference is their compatibility with the Premier League. Soldado, measuring in at 5 foot 10 and not particularly quick or strong, has always struggled to handle the physicality and intensity of the English top flight. The Belgian battering ram, on the other hand, is its walking epitome – the textbook definition of a Premier League centre-forward.
Even before Soldado arrived at White Hart Lane, it was obvious he’d need to do a lot of adapting. The two campaigns previous, Tottenham had averaged the first and second-most long shots per match of any Premier League side (in no small part due to Andros Townsend and Gareth Bale), but the 30 year-old’s number of goals from outside the box for Valencia, from a total of 82, could be counted on one hand.
Likewise, even before Benteke emerged as one of the Premier League’s most formidable target men after carrying his near one-in-two ratio over the next two seasons, it was obvious the then-22-year-old was blessed with all the requisites to become one of the division’s top goalscorers. Obvious to everybody, except perhaps Daniel Levy.
Of course, whether Benteke could’ve handled the pressure of representing a Champions League-contending club at that age remains open to debate. He would’ve been charged with the task of filling Gareth Bale’s goalscoring void during a season in which the Lilywhites were always destined to move either backwards of forwards. Just as Erik Lamela, Paulinho and Soldado – the three most expensive signings in White Hart Lane history – have bore the brunt of supporters’ disillusionment, the 6 foot 3 target-man may have also ended up as a member of that undesirable cohort.
Yet, Tottenham’s toils during the intermittent period make you wonder if it could’ve been different. Perhaps they still would’ve missed out on the Champions League, but perhaps Andre Villa Boas would still be in the hot seat and perhaps the 2013 transfer window would have been deemed considerably more successful.
Perhaps Emmanuel Adebayor would’ve been sold by now – or at the very least, completely forgotten about – and perhaps Benteke’s added firepower could’ve lead the Lilywhites to a trophy in one of the auxiliary competitions. It’s all hypothetical, of course, but the Belgium international was and still is the striker Tottenham need.
Spurs are trying to make up for lost time with a £20million bid but something tells me they’ll find themselves eclipsed in the race for Benteke’s signature. After all, half of Europe will be looking for a new centre-forward this summer and the 24-year-old has continually proved his goalscoring abilities in the toughest top flight in world football.
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Whilst the Lilywhites are hoping for a £20million deal, other suitors will be prepared to pay Benteke’s £32.5million release clause outright.