Aston Villa
C
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Wilfried Zaha: Destination West Bromwich
Wilfried
Zaha, Manchester United's most exciting (and most
underutilised) acquisition of 2013, seems likely to be loaned out to
another Premier League club this winter. The clubs associated include
Everton (surprise, surprise), Newcastle United and, predictably, former club
Crystal Palace.
United fans were initially
excited by Zaha’s unharnessed horsepower, but his inability to break into David
Moyes’ convulsant first team sees Red Devil fans enticed by what he might be, rather
than what he will contribute to 2013-14. That probably means seeing him temporarily
don blue or black and white.
A good argument is made by NBC’s
Pro Soccer Talk that Everton
might be an agreeable loan destination: the Toffees might be able to take
points from other teams competing for the top four while getting the young
England international the competition he needs to develop. A bonus comes in the
form of manager Roberto Martinez, who dating back to his days at Swansea has
nonpareil form at turning
loan players into monsters.
What this theory fails to account
for is that Everton, driven by a compelling foursome of loanees (Gareth Barry,
Gerard Delofeu, Romelu Lukaku and possibly Zaha), might themselves muster
enough points to keep United from Champions League qualification. Although it
seems less likely, the same might be said of Newcastle United.
While Everton, Newcastle and
Palace seem the most likely Zaha destinations, an under-the-radar
option might exist. West Bromwich Albion boast a coach-turned-manager in
Steve Clarke who managed the club to an upper half EPL finish last year and who
has with Roy Hodgson turned a former yo-yo team into a solid Premiership club –
albeit one that still appears to lack goals. Clarke also used temp man Romelu
Lukaku in a devastating manner last year, has developed young winger Saido
Berahino into a wonderful international prospect.
The Baggies sit fifteenth in the
table and seem to have based much of their recruitment on maximizing returns
from good, but not great players. The addition of Lukaku – who lopes around the
field with the speed and manner of a big cat hunting – last term provided a physical
weapon capable of freezing opposing defenses and creating space for midfielders
like James Morrison. Were West Brom able to rotate Scott Sinclair, Berahino and
Zaha, their forward corps would be perhaps more fascinating viewing than even the
Man
U Moyespocalypse.
Whether the Baggies have the available squad space and finances to make such a deal work remains questionable, but the club is certainly an option worth considering. It might make West Brom better, it would almost certainly make Wilfried Zaha better and would give fans of each side even more to tune in to.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Plus/minus: Aston Villa, Cardiff City, Manchester United, Southampton, Tottenham, 6th December 2013
Aston Villa
Player
|
Games
|
Minutes
|
GS
|
GA
|
Plus/minus
|
Scored/90
|
Conc/90
|
Team GD
|
Guzan
|
14
|
1260
|
16
|
16
|
0
|
1.143
|
1.143
|
0
|
Baker
|
8
|
643
|
10
|
11
|
-1
|
1.400
|
1.540
|
0
|
Vlaar
|
14
|
1215
|
14
|
14
|
0
|
1.037
|
1.037
|
0
|
Luna
|
11
|
945
|
12
|
12
|
0
|
1.143
|
1.143
|
0
|
Lowton
|
7
|
560
|
9
|
8
|
1
|
1.446
|
1.286
|
0
|
El Ahmadi
|
13
|
1017
|
13
|
13
|
0
|
1.150
|
1.150
|
0
|
Westwood
|
12
|
1073
|
11
|
14
|
-3
|
0.923
|
1.174
|
0
|
Delph
|
12
|
1023
|
14
|
14
|
0
|
1.232
|
1.232
|
0
|
Weimann
|
13
|
946
|
11
|
12
|
-1
|
1.047
|
1.142
|
0
|
Agbonlahor
|
11
|
893
|
11
|
12
|
-1
|
1.109
|
1.209
|
0
|
Benteke
|
12
|
929
|
10
|
12
|
-2
|
0.969
|
1.163
|
0
|
Clark
|
12
|
945
|
15
|
10
|
5
|
1.429
|
0.952
|
0
|
Bacuna
|
12
|
992
|
11
|
11
|
0
|
0.998
|
0.998
|
0
|
Okore
|
3
|
167
|
1
|
3
|
-2
|
0.539
|
1.617
|
0
|
Tonev
|
10
|
374
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
0.722
|
0.722
|
0
|
Helenius
|
3
|
49
|
0
|
1
|
-1
|
0.000
|
1.837
|
0
|
Kozak
|
10
|
574
|
9
|
7
|
2
|
1.411
|
1.098
|
0
|
Sylla
|
6
|
358
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
1.257
|
1.006
|
0
|
Bowery
|
3
|
27
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.000
|
0.000
|
0
|
Albrighton
|
1
|
19
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.000
|
0.000
|
0
|
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Spurs/United a preview of what might eventually be
Let’s talk about neurology
(again). Specifically, let’s talk about the way the human nervous system deals
with learning a new strategy – either a movement strategy or a new way of applying
what knowledge you already have.
Technically speaking, learning is
a relatively permanent change, a product of a change in the architecture of the
body’s nervous systems. Performance is another matter altogether; it is a
temporary change in behaviour observed during supervised practice. It depends
on many factors including the environment and the level of ambient stress.
Now, let’s talk about football –
and more accurately, about this weekend’s past match between Tottenham Hotspur
and Manchester United. Both teams are acclimating to new personnel, and thereby
learning new tactics, methods and movements.
David Moyes’ arrival means the
entire club is adapting to a new way of doing things, while the Whites have replaced
a once-in-a-generation player with a wide array of disparate talents like Erik
Lamela, Andros Townsend, Paulinho and Roberto Soldado. Each new player is now –
and still – adapting to Andre Villas-Boas and the way he thinks about football
and demands it played.
To expect instant change, or a
team to understand implicitly a new motor learning strategy within months is
unrealistic – for someone to retrain a learned behaviour, it takes anywhere as
much as 400 repetitions. Add to that the communication barrier – message,
language or mode – and suddenly it becomes reasonable to expect any particular situational
play to take months to consolidate.
Occasions of exquisite
performance, such as Manchester
United’s 5-0 triumph over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last week,
can occur despite a lack of learning. Sometimes, circumstances transpire to
create an atmosphere in which performance can occur despite a lack of learning.
The learning will occur as each player’s reps increase, with the most benefit
coming from time spent on the field in matches, rather than the training ground.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
France's qualifying woes actually reflects well on FIFA - sort of
Today's UEFA World Cup playoffs
will see France attempt to overturn a 0-2 deficit in hopes of qualifying for
next year's football fiesta. Apparently local hopes aren't high, with one poll
stating 84
percent of French citizens think the task will be too great for Les Bleus.
Ask the French Football
Federation, and they'll intimate that the team shouldn't be in this position in
the first place. This is because playoff seeding weights
group-stage matches more heavily than friendlies. Because France drew
a qualification group with four teams instead of five, Les Bleus were
unable to achieve enough FIFA rankings points to demand a seed. Thus, Franck
Ribery et al are now underdogs in a two-legged playoff against a quality
Ukraine team who might boast one of the best home field advantages this
side of Iceland. (And the
US.)
France always contribute to
the World Cup, whether because of sparkling football, a
soliloquising coach or just because of their general combustibility
factor (see: Anelka, Nicolas and Zidane, Zinedine). The Cup will miss them - as
it will Zlatan
Ibrahimovic or Cristiano Ronaldo, whichever player should not qualify.
Plenty of teams are unlucky during the qualification process and thereby miss
the Cup; four years ago, France got lucky when Thierry Henry's handball was
instrumental in the Republic of Ireland missing out on a trip to South Africa.
FIFA are certain to want
France to qualify for the sake of marketability and improved TV ratings, but
may benefit indirectly by the absence of such a major nation. For many years -
and especially since the farrago that the winning Qatar World Cup bid has been
- the game's governing body has been seen as a laughable entity defined by
factional and personal self-interest. Not "rigging the draw" to
ensure all of Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo, Mexico and France's qualification is the
first principled stand FIFA have made in years.
We can now celebrate Sepp
Blatter and co. actually getting something right! Unfortunately, as recent
events have come
to light -
predominantly surrounding football's newest/tiniest
powerbroker, Qatar - this stand is comparatively small.
As will be the comfort taken by
French football fans should Didier Deschamps’ men not triumph handsomely at the
Stade de France this evening.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
World Cup 2014 deserves Iceland, not Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic
The argument that the World Cup
would be immeasurably damaged by the absence of either Zlatan Ibrahimovic or
Cristiano Ronaldo is understandable, but bobbins. While the sublime skills of
these players would be missed – but perhaps not as much as their personalities
– one wonders if the presence of the
best players in the world is actually what makes the World Cup great.
One of the greatest players in
history, Georgie Best, never played at a World Cup Finals, yet the tournament
during his career moved to the forefront of football’s imagination. Some more
modern greats have appeared at the Big Dance on multiple occasions, only to continually
disappoint. (I’m looking at you, Wayne Rooney. And you, Ronaldinho).
Throughout the qualifying process
both Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (and the French
national team) have trod many stages upon which they might shine. Either or
both may still do so – probably to the other’s detriment. But the biggest
platform doesn’t necessarily require the biggest stars; the World Cup is more
about the sport’s unifying force than the paragon of the sport’s performance.
Seeding
the Qualification and playoff draw may help ensure that the best players
and most popular teams make it through to the World Cup finals, thereby protecting
television rankings in major markets like France. But it does so at the expense
of smaller nations who have achieved just as much (and, if relative populations
are taken into account, more) to make the final phase of qualification.
If skill begets achievement and achievement deserves its place
at the Cup, look no further than the minnows.
Put frankly, the 2014 World Cup
would be greater for having Iceland – population
320,000 – enter the Big Dance for the first time in place of Cristiano or
Zlatan doing so again. While moments of tremendous skill – often, but
not always, perpetrated by the game’s greats – help improve the perceived
quality of a tournament, this isn’t the reason why people watch the World Cup.
The Cup’s enduring appeal is a
result of the multicultural and festive atmosphere that surrounds it, a product
of nation playing nation at an event that occurs only every four years. The
greatest and most dramatic moments from the last World Cup – which while perhaps
not a great tournament technically, but absolutely engaging – were rarely a
solo act of brilliance but the product of team play or the high stakes involved.
Moments
of incredible technical prowess don’t make a World Cup. They help, certainly,
but the reason the World Cup is the globe’s greatest sporting event isn’t
necessarily soft-shoed talent – for that, look to the UEFA Champions League or
any match featuring Lionel Messi – but the celebration of national pride and
the unlikely stories behind the unfolding events.
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