From the Simpsons-Willie teaches French
Les Bleus visit a damp and windswept Croke Park this evening for the 1st leg of what looks to be the pick of the UEFA WC2010 play-off ties. Ireland of course finished as runners up to Italy ion Group 10, whereas the French were squeezed out of an automatic qualifying spot by Serbia-their 3-1 defeat to Austria in the opening game proving costly. Along the way, they could only manage a 1-0 win in the Faroes (managed by the never bitter Brian Kerr), but did actually manage to defeat Serbia at home and get a draw in the return leg. All of this on the back of a disastrous Euro 2008, where they didn't win a game (alebit they found themselves in a fairly tough group). They arrive in Dublin with a host of injuries (Ribery and Diaby absent, questions over Toulalan and Henry), questions surrounding their coach, and the prospect of playing in front of vocal Irish support, both at Croke Park, and indeed in Paris.
Even with their injuries, France still should enough talent to take care of Ireland. Their midfield looks like being a bit of an unknown quantity, but their attacking full backs and pace upfront suggests that can cause Ireland plenty of problems (I'm looking at you Sean St Leger and Kevin Kilbane!) The reality, for me, is that France will have to play poorly and Ireland will have to play as well as they can to win through. The prevailing opinions in the 'meeja' here in Ireland is that Ireland have a good chance of going through because:
(a) France have such a hated coach;
(b) if they were any good they would have qualified automatically;
(c) Ireland are so strong at set pieces; and
(d) we 'nearly' beat the World Cup Champions.
We shall see. My prediction? France by the odd goal-no penalties required.
Saturday 14 November 2009
Sunday 8 November 2009
A small victory
As goes the Faith No More song, this was my take on Chelsea's win over Man Utd. on Sunday. All that matters is that Chelsea got 3 points? Not so fast....
Man Utd sure frustrated Chelsea on Sunday-5 across the middle generally has that effect on Chelsea-even at Stamford Bridge. It should have been obvious what tactics Man Utd were going to employ-so I would question why Deco started the game-and was left on for so long when he was virtually anonymous throughout-and so there may have been a case for starting (gulp) Mikel in the middle to try and match up physically with Fletcher and Anderson. What was also obvious was that the diamond formation favoured by Ancelotti is not going to find it easy to break down teams that arrive at Stamford Bridge with a 'what we have we hold' mentality (anyone else remember Chelsea's difficulties in beating Hull City in the opening game of the season?). And I am still bemused by the amount of time Nicolas Anelka spends outside the box and in deep positions. He is a talented footballer for sure, but is at his most dangerous when in the box-the fact that his either encouraged to drop back or else feels the need to do so does not sit well with me.
With Deco ineffectual, where was the creative supply going to come from within the Chelsea midfield? Joe Cole might have been introduced sooner, but in my view, what is really requiored to break teams down is more width. An orthodox 4-4-2 would be nice-maybe not when playing Man Utd lining up as they did, but certainly against lesser teams. Joe Cole on the right and Malouda or indeed Zhirkov on the left with some combination of Essien/Lampard/Ballack/Mikel in the middle please!
The way the game played out on Sunday will put some spring in Man Utd's step. Their sense of injustice at the manner of the defeat as well as the fact that their second string centre back pairing managed to render both Drogba and Anelka relatively ineffective will serve as tremendous motivators for the next few games (home to Everton, away to Portsmouth and West Ham and home to Villa) which should see them get back on track pretty quickly. There was plenty of bad blood stirred up during the Stamford Bridge game-the April clash at Old Trafford should be interesting for that reason alone, but it also comes at a point in the season where it could have a significant bearing on the destination of this year's Premier League title.
Chelsea now face Wolves at Stamford Bridge-a game which will hopefully see them regain their recent scoring form-and then travel to Arsenal, where I hope to see a better Chelsea performance than the Man Utd game, and indeed a better game. Nothing about Sunday's game really would entice you to watch Premier League football. The news that Jose Bosingwa faces 3 months on the sidelines and the ongoing concern around Ashley Cole's fitness won't help Chelsea-aside from their defensive abilities both full backs play a key attacking role in the diamond formation favoured by Ancelotti. Chelsea have adequate, if not ideal, cover for the right, the left is more of a concern, unless Zhirkov manages to return from his latest injury setback.
- Chelsea were the home team and were at virtually full strength
- Man Utd on the other hand were the away team and were short both first choice centre backs and Dimitar Berbatov (whether he would have started or not is a moot point)
- Chelsea had scored 20 goals in their 5 games leading up to the clash with Man Utd.
- Man Utd have won the last two Premier League titles and this was a chance for Chelsea to make a statement that they are the are ready to reclaim the title
Man Utd sure frustrated Chelsea on Sunday-5 across the middle generally has that effect on Chelsea-even at Stamford Bridge. It should have been obvious what tactics Man Utd were going to employ-so I would question why Deco started the game-and was left on for so long when he was virtually anonymous throughout-and so there may have been a case for starting (gulp) Mikel in the middle to try and match up physically with Fletcher and Anderson. What was also obvious was that the diamond formation favoured by Ancelotti is not going to find it easy to break down teams that arrive at Stamford Bridge with a 'what we have we hold' mentality (anyone else remember Chelsea's difficulties in beating Hull City in the opening game of the season?). And I am still bemused by the amount of time Nicolas Anelka spends outside the box and in deep positions. He is a talented footballer for sure, but is at his most dangerous when in the box-the fact that his either encouraged to drop back or else feels the need to do so does not sit well with me.
With Deco ineffectual, where was the creative supply going to come from within the Chelsea midfield? Joe Cole might have been introduced sooner, but in my view, what is really requiored to break teams down is more width. An orthodox 4-4-2 would be nice-maybe not when playing Man Utd lining up as they did, but certainly against lesser teams. Joe Cole on the right and Malouda or indeed Zhirkov on the left with some combination of Essien/Lampard/Ballack/Mikel in the middle please!
The way the game played out on Sunday will put some spring in Man Utd's step. Their sense of injustice at the manner of the defeat as well as the fact that their second string centre back pairing managed to render both Drogba and Anelka relatively ineffective will serve as tremendous motivators for the next few games (home to Everton, away to Portsmouth and West Ham and home to Villa) which should see them get back on track pretty quickly. There was plenty of bad blood stirred up during the Stamford Bridge game-the April clash at Old Trafford should be interesting for that reason alone, but it also comes at a point in the season where it could have a significant bearing on the destination of this year's Premier League title.
Chelsea now face Wolves at Stamford Bridge-a game which will hopefully see them regain their recent scoring form-and then travel to Arsenal, where I hope to see a better Chelsea performance than the Man Utd game, and indeed a better game. Nothing about Sunday's game really would entice you to watch Premier League football. The news that Jose Bosingwa faces 3 months on the sidelines and the ongoing concern around Ashley Cole's fitness won't help Chelsea-aside from their defensive abilities both full backs play a key attacking role in the diamond formation favoured by Ancelotti. Chelsea have adequate, if not ideal, cover for the right, the left is more of a concern, unless Zhirkov manages to return from his latest injury setback.
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