Derby game

The teams entered the match on the back of some very good results in Europe with Lyon ensuring progress to the Champions League next round with a point against Liverpool, while Marseille returned into contention for the second place in the group with a 6:1 win over Zurich. Both sides were a bit inconsistent in Ligue 1 and went into the match trailing Bordeaux by two and seven points respectively. That could have been the fact that pushed the sides into more adventurous approach and that was definitely a good thing.

If someone missed the opening 15 minutes of the game because the old lady from the neighbourhood had asked them to help her track down her missing cat, they would have missed no less than three goals. After Souleymane Diawara’s header cancelled out Miralem Pjanic’s opener, Sidney Govou took the matter into his own hands and scored a beautiful goal after slaloming through Marseille’s defence virtually unchallenged. OM, nevertheless, managed to level the score in the dying moments of the first half when Lloris couldn’t save Benoit Cheyrou’s tame effort.

The second half was even more exciting than the first even though Marseille looked to be on the course to victory when they went two goals up thanks to Kone and Brandao. With just ten minutes to go, Lyon were in a difficult situation but they responded in beautiful manner by overturning the deficit through Lisandro Lopez (2) and Bastos. However, the game was not over since Toulalan’s own goal deep into the injury time gifted the visitors a deserved point in what was one of the most exciting matches in Ligue 1 history.

Even though neither manager is likely to be happy with their side conceding five goals, the fans were and are probably still delighted with the beautiful performance at Gerland. This was a real triumph of football and it certainly gives us hope that more derby games will be like the last OL-OM match.

It was Bazdarevic who led Grenoble to promotion from Ligue 2 and the team had a great start to last season after producing some impressive performances in the top flight. They clearly couldn’t continue the great run of results for much longer but still managed to avoid the relegation fight and finished the season in 13th place. Smart recruitment during the summer was definitely one of the reasons for the good season since the boss had brought mostly players with a wealth of Ligue 1 experience and that worked like a charm. He tried to do something similar this summer, having recruited Ljuboja, Dieuze, Matsui and Viviani but that didn’t have the same effect.

If you look at Grenoble’s results this season, you will see they lost most of the games by the narrowest of margins and could have, probably should have taken some points but the reality is they are sitting at rock bottom pointless after 11 league rounds. The situation is obviously alarming at the moment but it seems the team just need a couple of good results to turn this season around. They definitely have the quality to match most of the teams in the league and are now 9 points adrift of safety, but will need to start picking up points very soon. The only problem is that Grenoble face Monaco, Lyon, Lorient and Toulouse in the next four rounds and these are not exactly the teams they would want to be playing at the moment.

The injuries to strikers Ljuboja and Boya only add to the worries, especially since the Serbian striker has been in great form ever since returning to Ligue 1, having scored four out of Grenoble’s five goals this season. Battles, Dieuze, Vitakic, Paillot, Tadic, Ravet and talented Feghouli are all on the sidelines at the moment and survival looks like the mission impossible, at least for the time being.

The Fratton Park outfit were in big problems this summer as the proposed takeover of the club went on for ages and the situation is not much better at the moment. The takeover was completed just in time for Paul Hart, whose hands were tied until that moment, to sign a couple of great players to aid his side’s survival fight.

Experienced Premiership footballers Tal Ben Haim, Michael Brown and Aaron Mokoena obviously had no problems adapting to the familiar surroundings, while former Tottenham players Jamie O’Hara (on loan from Spurs) and Kevin Prince-Boateng finally got the chance to play on regular basis. O’Hara and Boateng have been thoroughly impressive so far and they have shown some of their enormous potential. Harry Redknapp could live to regret his decision to let them leave White Hart Lane.

Players with no Premiership experience like Yebda, Piquionne and especially Aruna Dindane obviously needed some time to gel but they are already showing they have the required quality to play at this level.

As the players started acclimatizing to the new surroundings, the results started improving and Pompey are now sitting just three points adrift of safety after the remarkable 4:0 win over Wigan. Interesting thing happened in that match when Kevin Prince-Boateng let Aruna Dindane take the late penalty in order to complete his first hat-trick in English football and this speaks volumes about Pompey team spirit. That was also the third successive match in which Portsmouth kept a clean sheet and the players are obviously brimming with confidence at the moment.

Pompey managed to boost their survival hopes with a couple of neat results and things are definitely looking up for Paul Hart’s team. Portsmouth are still in for a difficult relegation struggle but if they can keep up the rich vein of form, they will be out of the bottom three in no time.

Simply, no man would make the same mistake twice. Los Galacticos one were tragic but this other version looks like a group of clowns. It is not just about the defeat in the cup by the villagers, this is about investing money into something that will never work.

Real squad seems as a child’s attempt to gather 11 favourite players and brag about it to friends. There is simply no sense in bringing players without any purpose.

They won smaller teams thanks to individual quality and as soon as they came across a serious squad, the royals had nothing. They hope it will all change when Cristiano Ronaldo comes back, but that is mere delusion. He is not the kind of player who can make a difference against teams like Chelsea, Barcelona or ruthless Italians such as Juventus.

Many found it strange when Pellegrini was appointed the boos of the team. First of all because no serious coach wants to participate in a project doomed to failure. What can you do in a situation where you have seven strikers, so you must open up at the mercy of guys like Messi and Pato.

Unfortunately there are people who like to watch this kind of football too and high scores like 8:5 but that is circus. It is one thing to play offensive for the score and completely another to play game only to sell jerseys.

Fortunately, such experiments don’t last long, another summer and Perez’s empire will fall down and Real will start all over again.

Van Gaal is imply not a big coach, for various reasons.

First of all, his innovations don’t give results. Few titles won on Barcelona bench don’t mean anything, as real were on their knees back then, while the Catalans had no success in Europe. He brought too many Dutchmen with him; with the help of Cruiff managed to ruin the atmosphere in the team, by arguing with the key players and the whole story ended without any real progress.

After that the failure with the national squad followed, then another disappointment in Barca, the clashes with Ajax management and the title with AZ Alkmar. This revived his career but that is no one gets the chance ro return on the big scene after such an achievement.

No one except for Van Gaal.

Bayern is not the club for him; there is a reason why they are called FC Hollywood. They are not avant-garde, they don’t care for innovations, they want to win. We should mention that Van Gaal inherited the team that have lost some of the winning mentality, but this is the strongest team in his arms this century. No coach had Ribery and Robben together and a lot of money was invested in new signings, still there are no results.

Van Gaal is making the same mistakes, fights with key players, introduces young players when they need the goal margin and slowly he is losing credibility in both Bundesliga and in Europe.

The wrong man at the wrong place.

Autumn is always a crisis period for Bavarian bench and the Dutchman is no exception. By the end of November he will have lost his chance in the Champions League, his team won’t be on the top in Bundesliga so the sack is logical consequence.

He is used to such outcomes, but there is a difference now- never will he get a chance in a big club anymore.

Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal

When Arsenal sold Kolo Toure to Manchester City a few eyebrows were raised. Will their defence be good enough for a team with ambitions of winning the league? Is this Vermalen guy good enough for the Premier League? Etc. Those questions have been answered and then some by the former Ajax man’s performances so far.

Not only does he look accomplished and composed in defence but he also has a cracking shot on him. I’ve got to admit, centre-halves who can bang in a wonder goal are always good in my eyes, Vermalen has hit his fair share of smashers already this season and has already found the net five times. He cost under £12million and has stepped into Toure’s shoes with ease. Another success in the transfer market for Mr Arsene Wenger methinks.

Lee Chung-Yong, Bolton Wanderers

I knew absolutely nothing about Lee when he joined Bolton in a £2.2million deal. Bolton boss Gary Megson must have been aware of the need for a player who can run at defenders and cause problems for the opposition defence and that is exactly what Lee can do. He has an excellent turn of pace, some quick and nimble feet and a fantastic work rate.

The South Korean winger picked up a man of the match award in Bolton’s draw against Spurs and has put in some classy displays. He has already scored some great goals for Bolton and will surely score more in his time in Lancashire. His first touch is impressive and he shows great intelligence with his link up play. I’m going to suggest that Megson has picked up a real bargain in the shape of 21-year-old Lee.

Christian Benitez, Birmingham

Ecuadorian Benitez, or ‘Chucho’, cost the Blues £6million – a fee many considered a risk considering he had only previously played in his home country and Mexico. However, Chucho has quickly established himself as a favourite with the fans at St Andrews’ with his turn of pace and tenacity. He has already shown his willingness to work hard by playing with a bandaged head against Hull after taking a considerable smack to the head and should start to get amongst the goals soon. His time at Birmingham has been interrupted by trips back to his homeland but once he gets a regular run in the side he will surely show his true quality.

And we’re still waiting on….

Manchester United’s Gabriel Obertan looked lively in Carling Cup action against Barnsley. An injury had kept him out until that point but judging from his display against the Tykes I’m sure he’ll challenge the likes of Nani for a place in United’s starting eleven.

Liverpool forked out a decent sum, £20million, for Alberto Aquilani. The former Roma man has an excellent array of passing and is a master from a dead ball situation. He is close to full fitness so we should get to see the Italian playmaker in action fairly soon.

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting Irish racing betting tips and picks for Betfair.

The only problem might be the fact that “the flying Dutchman” didn’t have a club for over a year. He finished his last professional season in Ajax jersey and left the club in June 2008. Davids didn’t retire, but didn’t find a club, either, and his form is questionable, as well as his motivation to bite hard and help the Foxes get a chance for the big return to the Premiership.

The search for Davids was a typical move of Milan Mandaric, Leicester president. The publicity over this possible transfer will only help the club, regardless of the final outcome. Davids is a player who doesn’t play if he is not fully fit, he fights for each ball, which the army of fans at Walkers stadium can’t wait to see. He will probably need three or four weeks to get in form, but Foxes are doing great at the moment.

In spite of his age (36 years old), Davids is known as the player who has contributed a lot to any club where he played and it is no coincidence that the club are chasing precisely him. He is the type of player that will fit perfectly in Coca Cola Championship and his priceless experience will help young Leicester squad, no matter how much time he gets on the pitch.

Pit-bull will definitely bite, no matter where he plays or how old he is.

Phil Brown was the hero of Hull after he successfully guided the Championship relegation strugglers to the Premier League and even more so after the impressive start the Tigers had in the strongest league in the world. Nevertheless, from that moment things started taking the wrong turn and Hull ended up narrowly missing out on the drop after major struggles in the second part of the season.

Phil Brown somehow managed to keep the team in the Premiership and save his job but we cannot really say he did something special to help his side. We still remember the infamous half-time team talk on the pitch at City of Manchester Stadium and some other decisions that proved Brown didn’t know what he was doing. The boss has quickly lost the support of the fans that were mad about him just few months back and once he lost their support it was only a matter of time before he got the boot.

Despite the big budget he had at his disposal, Brown failed to lure decent players to KC Stadium and you cannot really blame players like Bent, Campbell and Zamora for not wanting to come to Hull. He somehow managed to bring a couple of decent players in the dying moments of the transfer window but despite having a good squad of players, the results fail to improve. Tigers picked up just 8 points from 10 league games and this looks like the right time for a change. If the club officials were to wait a bit longer, it would probably be too late.

This squad still have the potential and with the players looking to impress the new manager (Alan Curbishley is being mentioned as possible replacement), maybe they can turn this season around. But first, let’s just wait to see Brown’s back before making any predictions.

At the peak of the season, when the games are played on Tuesday-Saturday pace and when some regular starters are bound to get injured, panic usually strikes at Bloomfield Road about where to find eleven players to go out on the pitch. The club were after the youngsters from other clubs to bring on a month-long or three-month loan and Christmas usually sees them playing with most of the players that didn’t even start the season in orange jersey.

Something finally changed this summer.

They sold the players that had to be sold as well as the expensive ones (captain and key defender Shaun Barker went to Derby). In return they kept the promising players (young midfielder Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Ben Burges) and surprisingly signed a very famous player (midfielder Charlie Adam from Glasgow Rangers), then a talented striker Billy Clarke from Ipswich. When you add to it fine players, the last-minute loans (striker Hameur Bouazza, winger Al Banghoura, defender Marcel Seip), we see a pretty good squad at Holloway’s disposal.

Charismatic manager Ollie didn’t have luck on the bench in Leicester, where he suffered the biggest failure in the history of the club after relegation to League One in season 2007/08. He paid for it by resigning and took a year-long break. Now he seems to be returning in style, as Blackpool are doing great, especially at home where in the last six rounds we saw them bury names like Wigan (4:1 in Carling Cup), then Newcastle, Sheffield United, Coventry, Peterborough and Plymouth in the league. They conceded only two goals in all of these matches.

The game against Plymouth was marked by French defender, Marcel Seip’s persuasive debut, who was literally chased away from Plymouth only few days earlier because of his clash with coach Paul Sturrock. He was sent on loan to Blackpool with the permission to play against his parent club. Few days later these rivals met and Seip’s beautiful goal helped Blackpool to a win and he enjoyed the sweet revenge.
The situation with Seip these days is especially interesting. Blackpool and Plymouth presidents are negotiating about extending his loan contract and the problem that got in the way is to say the least, bizarre. Actually, Seip’s wife is the daughter of Plymouth president, Paul Stapleton. She and her mother, the daughter and wife of Plymouth’s president were seen celebrating Seip’s goal for Blackpool in the afore mentioned win over Plymouth. A silly situation that seems to have affected Stapleton, so he hesitates about the loan now…

Ollie is a great motivator and his work on the West coast, reminds of his days in West London, when he did a great job on QPR bench, while Rangers were still a modest team. Tangerines are doing great so far, in the play-offs zone or near it, showing another important feature they didn’t have before – excellent defense (they conceded only two goals in seven home matches, 13 overall). Even though it is still early to talk about play-offs contention, if they keep this up anything can happen.

Dreams can come true and last season Burnley showed that anything is possible when you believe.