EPL Talk

Liverpool Stand On The Edge Of Failure

Paul Bestall — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:05:31 +0000

The morning after Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League has seen the club reiterate that Rafa Benitez’s position is safe. Not qualifying for the Champions League knock out stage is a big blow for a club that strives for parity at Europe’s top table. Throughout this season, Liverpool have struggled in the League and in Europe. Last night saw them relying on Lyon to win in Florence, but what astounded me was the lack of pushing for extra goals.

Liverpool needed goals, but towards the end of the game, Benitez’s substitutions began to become increasingly surreal. Ngog was removed for Benayoun, Left backs were exchanged and Aquilani was brought on for 34 seconds. All the while, Liverpool were praying for Lyon to score but if they had, Benitez needed Liverpool to score more. If Lyon had scored and the game in Florence was drawn, Liverpool then could qualify by beating Fiorentina 3-0 at Anfield.

Yet what would have happened if Liverpool had only won 2-0? It would have then come down to goal difference and Liverpool would have lost out again. As it is, it doesn’t matter anymore, but what struck me before the game yesterday was Jamie Carragher’s comments about winning the Europa League to give the season a “gloss”. This Liverpool side is possibly the weakest since Gerard Houillier left the club in the summer of 2004, they’re struggling in the league and only have the Europa League and the F.A. Cup to aim for. What kind of gloss does winning the Europa League give you?

The title is a non starter, but is it beyond them to finish 4th? They are only 5 points off 4th currently but the next 3 league games could see them fall further behind. Tough trips to Everton and Blackburn are followed by a visit from Arsenal whilst the upwardly mobile trio of Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa are playing well. For Liverpool to profit they have to hope they can hit title form, without having a hope of the title and all 3 of their rivals fall away spectacularly.Is that possible?

Of course, people point to the injury crisis that seems to have engulfed Liverpool, but this squad is solely the work of Rafa Benitez. It is only weak because he has created such a situation. He still relies on 2 players he inherited, Gerrard and Carragher, who are coming to the end of their natural careers. Gerrard is 29 and Carragher is 32 in January and has probably had his most fitful season in the red shirt. Gerrard can still drag Liverpool forward, but for how much longer? How much longer can Carragher keep going? How much will it cost to replace them?

Last year for me saw Liverpool punching way above their weight when they ran Manchester United so close for the title. Chelsea were in flux, Arsenal were still growing as a side. Spurs were in a crisis of their own creation, Villa lost their way and Manchester City were still coming to grips with their new found wealth. That is not the case this season, all of their rivals are in much better shape and all of them have money to spend, which is certainly not the case at Anfield.

The constant negativity towards the owners has sullied the the picture at Anfield, taking the focus away from the playing squad. Blaming bad luck, referees and injuries is becoming the norm from Benitez. Yes they have had bad luck with injuries but so have Chelsea and Manchester United. Chelsea were without Lampard, Drogba, Ballack, Boswinga and Carvalho on Saturday and thumped Wolves 4-0. Would a Liverpool side without Torres, Gerrard, Carragher, Mascherano and Johnson do so?

Of course the added poignancy here for Liverpool is that they can’t afford to sack Benitez regardless of how bad this season turns out for them. The last accounts filed for 2007-2008 saw Liverpool make a loss of £41.5 million on top of a £290 million debt. There is no doubt that Hicks and Gillett have saddled the club with debt, but at what point does the playing squad become the main area for concern? It is a dangerous game to assume Liverpool can walk in to the Europa League and win it.

There will be other footballing giants in the next round of the competition, which Liverpool will have to be aware of. Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Marseille, Real Madrid, AC Milan, CSKA Moscow and Athletico Madrid could all join them. It will not be easy for a team playing well to win it, never mind one that is struggling across all fronts to find some form. Benitez has to find a settled side and stick with it, forget the Europa League and concentrate on the league. Benitez’s obsession with Europe could completely derail the league with dire consequences.

What if Liverpool don’t win the Europa League and finish 5th? That’s a £40 million hole in a teams finances that is losing £40 million a year already. Across the Pennines, the effects of financial mismanagement coupled with failure to qualify for the Champions League can still be seen at Elland Road. That’s a very real scenario, regardless of history and standing. Liverpool need to get going and quickly or a disappointing season will become a catastrophic one within weeks.

David Beckham Will Not Be Going to South Africa

Eric Altshule — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:00:05 +0000

Hello. My name is Fabio Capello. Over the past 18 months, I have been hailed as the savior of English football. Under my stewardship, England easily qualified for the World Cup Finals next year in South Africa. Granted, our qualifying group was fantastically weak, and in our friendlies against other big nations like Spain and Brazil we have come out second best, but no matter. We are going to South Africa and I am taking with me the latest version of “England’s best team in a generation.”

Like all national team coaches, I know that once we land in South Africa, my job is mostly done. My starting XI largely pick themselves, and while a few tactical decisions may impact a thing or two, by the time June rolls around, the cards will have been dealt and I will be trying to best play the hand I have got. I know that my toughest job comes in April when I announce which 23 players will be boarding that plane to South Africa, and at the moment, I have a hard time figuring out how David Beckham is one of them.

All of England may be proclaiming the brilliance of my team, but I am not so convinced. I know I have holes. Rio Ferdinand looks shaky in the back, but he is a lot better than my third central defender, whoever that is. Up front, Wayne Rooney is one of my strikers, but, this past weekend aside, is Jermaine Defoe really the best I have got for that other striker? On the left side of my midfield, I have some good options, but no great ones. However, the one place where I am thick with talent is the right side of the midfield.

Aaron Lennon is terrific. Theo Walcott, who got me off to a great start in Croatia last year, is even better than Lennon when he is fit. Shaun Wright-Philips is having the season we all knew he could have once he got out from his purgatory at Chelsea. Do I have room on my 23 man squad for four right-sided mid fielders? No way. Is David Beckham going to beat out any of these three younger, faster, better players?

For most England fans, the thought of Beckham not being on the team is unimaginable. But most England fans have not watched the tape of all of Beckham’s games with the Los Angeles Galaxy over the past four months. I have. Sure, he has had his moments. He had a great game against Toronto FC a couple of months ago. That pass to Landon Donovan in the second playoff game against Chivas was pretty sweet. He had a couple of other moments that hearken back to his earlier days, but those flashes were far and few between.

Unlike most England fans, I am not just watching the highlights that end up on You Tube. I am watching the whole game, and seeing how often he was stripped of the ball in the midfield, how he labored to get up and down the pitch in a normal game and how many of his passes were easily cut off by defenders that will all be watching the World Cup on TV next year. I also saw that his dead ball skills are on the wane and how goalies I have never heard of easily gobble up those few balls that actually clear the wall. Frankly, if he was on the England team, I cannot think of a scenario where he is my best option to send out on the pitch.

A few of the fellows have told me that they really like having him on the squad and that he is a positive influence in the dressing room. Great, but experience is not in short supply on my team. I have plenty of senior players who know how to inspire my younger guys, and my 23 slots are too valuable to give one away to someone who is just a good dinner companion.

To be honest, by April I don’t think that this decision will be controversial. If the Beckham I have watched over the past four months is the Beckham that shows up next month in Milan, I fear he will be cooking himself for dinner for all to see. Honestly, his body is wearing out. He is at the age where a little knock takes weeks of recovery time. In the MLS, you can spend some of that recovery time actually on the pitch making a contribution, but Serie A is no MLS. The players are too skilled not to see any weakness and exploit it, and a healthy Beckham now has a lot of weaknesses. A dinged up Beckham – well, he will be low-hanging fruit to rest of the teams in Italy. It could be an ugly few months for Beckham in Milan.

I like David Beckham. He showed me a lot of heart back in Madrid. He is one of the main reasons why I have a La Liga medal at home. But I am hard man. Nostalgia does not mean much to me. Players on the pitch who can help me win games are just about all I care about. And given that, I can’t see taking Beckham to South Africa with me next summer.

Andy Mitten Interview: Author of “Glory Glory: Man Utd in the ’90s”

The Gaffer — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:55:12 +0000

Andy Mitten, author of “Glory, Glory: Man Utd in the 90s,” is the latest guest on the EPL Talk Podcast.

During the interview, Mitten discusses the stories both on and off the pitch of some of the legendary Manchester United players from the 1990s. Plus he talks about the Manchester United team of 2009.

Mitten – whose great uncle Charlie Mitten was a star in Matt Busby’s first great side – writes regularly for The Independent and FourFourTwo magazine. He has visited 90 countries and every continent as a football writer, covering derby games from Israel to the Faroes and Andorra to South Africa. He has also interviewed players such as Rooney, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Eto’o, Keane and Gerrard. Born and red in Manchester, Andy currently divides his time between M16 and Barcelona, scene of United’s greatest triumph. He has written or co-written eight United books.

Be sure not to miss a single episode of the EPL Talk Podcast, the only Premier League interview show on the Internet. We have a long list of high-profile guests scheduled over the next weeks each with their own fascinating stories to tell. Subscribe to the EPL Talk Podcast via iTunes or visit EPL Talk or the archives for the latest episodes.

Megson Begins A Dangerous Game At Bolton

Paul Bestall — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:18:05 +0000

Ah, Gary Megson, never a manager to pass the blame on to anyone else for his own shortcomings, has decided that today he would announce that certain players are trying to destabilise the club. After watching Sundays performance, I don’t blame them, they look a team with no self confidence, no belief and no faith in the manager. At least he’s not blaming the fans this week. It’s always some else’s fault in Gary Megson’s mind. On Sunday, they’d lost their zip. Now, dark forces are working against Gary Megson, not the fact he played two left wingers in the same midfield and substituted their best player on Sunday, Ricardo Gardner. Witchcraft is abound on Burnden Way in Megson’s eyes.

The fans do not need a reason to increase their dislike of a manager that they never wanted.The boo’s that came cascading down from the Reebok faithful when Ricardo Gardner was removed served to remind Megson that regardless of the chairman’s support, If enough fans stop going, it won’t matter. Money makes the world go round and Bolton’s gates have never been the highest. Currently 5,000 down on 2005-2006 season, even a local derby on Sunday against Blackburn couldn’t raise the attendance over 22,000.

To be honest, I think Gary Megson would lose a popularity contest if he was the only person in it and only his friends could vote. His dogmatic, banality at all costs style of football makes you want to stitch your eyelids together. That’s no attack on Bolton Wanderers, they have the quality of player to be able to get the ball down and play football. Under Allardyce, they attracted a quality of free signings and rough diamonds that played a high tempo, effective and physical game.Megson’s teams just won’t play football because he doesn’t know how to.

Under Megson, they look lost, without purpose and drive. A key point of this is Johan Elmander. Now, I’ve seen a bit of Elmander play over the last 3 or 4 years and right now, he looks like he’s never played the game before. There is no doubting that Elmander is a quality player and he made Toulouse a different side during his time there. Now, he looks like a fish out of water.Elmander is no Fernando Torres, but he’s a damn fine striker.

The chairman Phil Gartside has said there was no need to panic and he wasn’t the type to do so, but tell that to Sammy Lee. Gartside came out with this gem: “The season is 38 games and we are confident. We have been playing some good football, it’s been decent stuff. No one presses panic buttons around here. I have been in the game long enough not to do that.” Now I’ve yet to find a Reebok regular that would agree with any part of that statement.

Since Megson took over at the Reebok stadium, Bolton have played 92 games in all competitions under his stewardship. Incredibly, they’ve only won 26 of those matches. That’s a win ratio of 28.2% and Paul Hart who has so much to deal with and got sacked today had a win ratio at Pompey of 30%. With the fans baying for his blood, Bolton now face Fulham and Wolves away before Manchester City arrive and these are crucial games. The Christmas fixture computer has given them some tough local games and relegation six pointers, so things aren’t going to get any easier.

By once again blaming everyone else, Megson shows a thin skin to his limitations as a manager. As I mentioned earlier this year, Megson has a dreadful record as a manager, but keeps getting jobs. It astounds me how the same names keep going round and round and never achieving anything but the jobs keep coming. Mind you Megson claimed he’d been black balled after his dreadful spell at Nottingham Forest, which when you consider he only won 17 games out of 59, speaks for itself.

The dreaded vote of confidence has come, the fans are chomping at the bit to let him know just how little they think of him, attendances are falling, Megson is blaming the fans, the players and the club are second bottom. The question Bolton fans must be wondering is just how bad to things have to get at the Reebok before Megson gets sacked. We’ll find out soon enough if there is a happy ending in Horwich.

Paul Hart Leaves Portsmouth FC

Paul Bestall — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:44:53 +0000

Well, you wonder if sanity has left the South Coast this summer at Portsmouth, with weird takeovers, scraping around for signings, the chief executive being charged with tax evasion, another takeover, being banned from signing due to unpaid debts and now Paul Hart being moved out of the managers seat. What have the Pompey faithful done to deserve this mess?

Of course, Paul Hart is entirely to blame for Portsmouth’s misfortune isn’t he? Yep, everything that has gone on over the summer is all Paul Hart’s fault. It was Paul Hart’s fault that self publicising loudmouth Sulaimin Al-Fahim didn’t have the money he said he did. It’s Paul Hart’s fault that the previous owner, Alexandre Gaydamak refused to finance the club any more and it is all Paul Hart’s fault that he spent most of August trying to sign players as he had no team.

The statement from Portsmouth’s owners through Peter Storrie is typical of people who have absolutely no idea about football or sport in general. “Paul has worked under very difficult circumstances with the financial restrictions the club has faced since he took over, however, the board feels that the team should have accrued more points to date and that we need a new man in charge to ensure Premier League survival.”

What planet do these owners live on? Paul Hart has had to watch as an entire team is dismantled in front of him, then the all shouting and all singing Al Fahim turns up, promises the world but has no money, gets a loan to pay the wages and then sells 90% to someone who doesn’t know anything about football. Did Al Fahim ever have any money? I don’t think he did and he made a packet in 6 weeks for making outlandish statements and walking about with a replica kit on.Well done.

Manchester City’s owners jettisoned him soon enough after he continued to make stupid statements every other day. Al Fahim is well known as a celebrity chaser and loves the limelight ahead of any business sense he may have. He promises to buy the club and then the deal takes forever because he’s having trouble getting the money together. Al Fahim claimed he had £100 million to invest and did that ever appear?

Hart watched on as player after player was sold to keep the wolves from the door and the manager was left with the bare bones of a team with days to spare before the season started. Hart then spends every avenue open to him to try and create a team in a fortnight and they treat him like this? It’s pathetic at best and a disgraceful turn of events.

The board feels they should have more points? Could they clarify how a team thrown together in a fortnight is supposed to be winning games off the bat. Portsmouth have been playing alright over the last month or so, despite a transfer embargo and delayed wages again, Pompey were slowly coming together. These owners are out of their minds to treat Paul Hart like this.

Of course, Avram Grant’s there now, so I would expect he’ll jump at the chance at this poisoned chalice to try and prove that the rumour about Chelsea almost winning the Champions League in spite of him is untrue. Nicknamed the man from the B.B.C (balls, bibs and cones) during his first spell at Portsmouth due to the amount of input he actually had, this will be a real test of his abilities.

Yet, I feel real sympathy for Paul Hart. I’ve been critical of his managerial abilities before, because his record, other than at Nottingham Forest wasn’t all that good, but that was another situation where he had a talented side that was sold under him. Of course, the fact that David Platt had caused that situation before scuttling off was no fault of his but he had to carry the can and ultimately paid the price.

How can anyone be expected to manage a side with the chaos that comes pouring down from the boardroom at Fratton Park is anyone’s guess, but to do such a callous and despicable act to someone who has acted with the uppermost dignity throughout the last 6 months at Portsmouth is a disgraceful affair. Once again, I feel for the fans at Portsmouth, no club deserves the owners they’ve got their now.