England Suffer Maladaptive Syndrome in Manaus

England surveys the remains of a tactical crash in Manaus, after defeat to Italy in its opening game at the 2014 World Cup. Advocates and opinion formers will spin this as some kind of progress, in terms of the performance. They'll sharpen the rhetoric, and have us believe England played good, positive attacking football, a vindication for picking young, skilful players in the team.

Picking a team, and tactics should never be influenced by popular opinion; and I dare to say, England Manager, Roy Hodgson caved in to popular demand, and fielded a team that he would know deep down, does not add-up. 

Read It Is Roy Hodgson's Trial, Not Wayne Rooney's

England played the 4-2-3-1 formation, to fit names, but all it did was create a tactical headache for the manager.  Rooney, Welbeck Sterling, behind Sturridge was always going to leave the team with a deficit in numbers when defending. You are depending on at least, three players from that group to adapt to defensive duties, which is a counter intuitive command, and a tactical risk that really did unravel Manaus.

Read England: Expectations and Formations

Welbeck on the right, Rooney on the left, and Sterling in the middle, all three supposedly interchanging was a nice piece of theory. In reality, it created square pegs in round holes in offence and defence, especially for Rooney and Welbeck. The lack of defensive balance on the left of the England team, was a legacy of this ill-judged tactic, and Italy's winning goal proved it.

As eye catching as Raheem Sterling's performance suggests, it was in reality a pyrrhic one. Points is what counts;  and the stats on chances created and ball possession, Italy triumphed. How can there be positives when Hodgson fires his big guns, to no avail.

Italy on the other hand were fluid, simple, elegant, and tactically imposed their game on England. Former England Manager Glenn Hoddle said last week, Andrea Pirlo will not last 90 minutes in the heat of Manaus. Again he was wrong. Pirlo smacked England's bar with a sumptuous free kick in time added on.

Pirlo is what Floyd Mayweather is to boxing: a master of his craft. The 35 year old was shepherded by Verratti and De Rossi in midfield; and in his vision - right and left, he had movement off the ball from a combination Chiellini, Marchisio;  Darmian and Candereva. Ballotelli was the man on the end of everything. A finely woven system by Coach Prandelli. His tactic puts the opposition on the back foot, giving them a pedestal to dominate.

The question is where does England go from here? my take is that 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 is the way to go. The team needs to be compact in midfield, andJack Wilshere added on to the midfield roster. The full backs Johnson and Baines have to pound the flanks

The vital thing is playing players to optimise the system, and not the opposite. Drumming for and against individuals like the nation is doing is futile. Wayne Rooney has to be the reference point to England's attack not a distraction. The Manager has to make him the spear-head, or drop him.



You can see how the Italians ring-fenced Ballotelli and Pirlo. Rooney deserves that. But more importantly, have a cohesive master plan. One that is enduring, self-sustaining,  and balanced enough to deal with the unknown. It was woeful seeing Darmian, and Candreva running riot down the England left, and the reaction is to have Rooney and Welbeck, strikers by trade, having to adapt, tracking back. Play suitable players in those positions, and non of that need arises.  Preposterous. England deserve better than that.

England: Expectations and Formations

 England's 1966 World Cup Hero, and all time top scorer, Bobby Charlton, suggests England are  lacking "world class players" ( yes, once again, that silly phrase: "world class players") and categorically declaring the team will not win the world Cup. Then BBC Anchor, and Mexico 86' World Cup, top scorer, Gary Lineker, urges the team to "outscore" opponents, playing  attacking football. Ex-International, and icon, David Beckham has weighed in with his thoughts to the effect: "the kids will be alright".

The mind set of such luminaries easily highlights the misconceptions England have when it comes to the national team. The sum cannot be bigger than the whole. To achieve results, you need a good team - and better still, a balanced team.

There is a fixation in  England for the reincarnation of heroes of the past - Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan, Glenn Hoddle,  Bryan Robson, John Barnes, Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle, David Beckham.  Every new generation of players is foisted with the prophesy, pre-ordained to return England to the promised land. Players who do not even have 15 international caps carry this albatross of labels from soothsayers. This is fed through to the fans by the media, and before you know it, his development becomes arrested at it's nascent stage.

It's happened to the likes of Lee Sharpe, Neil Webb, Alan Smith, Joe Cole and Theo Walcott is another  in the current set up; but how far has he really progressed as an England International. A player picked in the 2006 World Cup squad, yet had not played a single premier league game for his Club, Arsenal. Fast Forward, 2014 World Cup, and we have Everton centre back John Stones as an appendage to the 23 man squad. The 20 year old only made his first full premier league start for his Club, last January, but he is already deemed talented enough to be an England International. Can that really be the right way to select players?

England pick players and build teams in an incongruent manner. It is rather all over the map. Similarly plans to address the scarcity of talented youngsters. Greg Dyke, the FA Chairman, proposes a B' Team league, to create a wider catchment for English talent. My take is if England have national teams at under 17, 19, 20, and 21 levels, then a synergy of scouting, coaching, incentivising, providing greater impetus, and profile to games and tournaments surrounding these teams would do wonders attracting youngsters. All premier league clubs want good English talent. It would make more sense if the FA ramps up its branding of the youth  teams. How about getting the likes of Paul Scholes, Michael Owen, Ledley King, or even David Beckham, names like that, to work within a structure in the respective youth teams. That's a sure fire way to bolster the supply side of players. The supply side will create a trickle down effect to Premier and championship clubs, and England consequently, and suddenly less becomes more. It's more to do with attention, profile, and structure, and less about bleating.

Congrats to England Boss, Roy Hodgson for holding a question and answer session with England fans in Miami, last week. I give him credit for meeting with them, and articulating his intentions. At least, we know we can hold him to his words. He said he would be going out to win the world cup. I had been critical of his reticence in that regard in my last blog.

READ: It Is Roy Hodgson's Trial, Not Wayne Rooney's

After the friendlies in Miami against World cup teams in Ecuador and Honduras, it's blatant England are going to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. They are geared to want to go out and attack, and set the tempo. If you like, play like most contemporary teams try to do.

Whilst it represents a bold move to play in an attacking, more modern style, and England have most of the components to do it, however, i am not sold on the performances from the last two friendlies.



I do not think Hodgson has the right sort of player to fit into the middle of a trio behind the striker. That is not being critical of any one player, but it was pretty evident in those two games. The player who plays in that position is the brain box for the team's attacking play; and he has to be defensively very aware, because he is in line to dropping into midfield. In short, he has to think like a midfielder, better still be a midfielder.

On the other hand, the team looked short in midfield with regards bodies and variety. If the manager is going to play two holding midfielders, there is an imbalance in the team. The team would be better set up for a 4-3-3 formation. It was also glaring the full backs  are not synchronised to attack down the flanks; neither do the centre halves. Jageilka and Cahill are way too flat. One has to come forward with the ball in order to release the full backs and midfielders.

Blessed with a generation of midfield runners is no guarantee for success. Folks rave about Barkley, Llanna, Oxlade Chamberlain, and Sterling, but the mechanics of the game would suggest all parts of a team have to interact. There is an inherent danger if the manager sticks to this 4-2-3-1 formation. If fusion and interaction make a good team, I'll be hoping the manager does not get ahead of himself. Better stick to a system that generates the right chemistry for this group. Play 4-3-3, Roy!!!

It Is Roy Hodgson's Trial, Not Wayne Rooney's

The 2014 World Cup is upon us. There is a plethora of debates doing the rounds in different countries about the squads Head Coaches have picked, and the form of some individual players.
 
Rightly or wrongly, Head Coaches get demonised for one thing or the other at this stage. In 1982, before and during the World Cup finals in Spain, the Italian World Cup winning Coach, Enzo Bearzot, was in the firing line for his squad selection, and for his tactics in the tournament per se, after three draws from their opening group games, prompting the late coach to practically boycott the press - silenzio stampa  (press silence) Suffice to say, Italy went on to win the world cup that year.
 
England Manager, Roy Hodgson has enjoyed a cordial, and at times cosy relationship with the media than quite a number of his predecessors managed. When the Manager announced his world cup squad a couple of weeks ago, there was little or no fuss overall over his choices. Not even at the exclusion of Ashley Cole, the 107 times capped left back, for 18 year old Southampton green horn, Luke Shaw.
 
It is scandalous the media have at this late hour contrived to take issue with Wayne Rooney's form, and starting place In Hodgson's team, rather than highlighting the manager's queer decision to over load on young, inexperienced attacking midfielders. Neither have they been able to play any meaningful role in fostering an agenda around the England Team leading up to the world cup. The team has set sail for South America without really connecting with the aspirations of its supporters. 
 
Manager Roy Hodgson on the other hand, has been bland and tepid with his messages. He has barely pronounced or declared a jot on the state of the team’s evolution under his stewardship, and the media have played lip service to all of this. 
 
Maybe, it’s about avoiding unfulfilled expectations that the England team has been saddled with in the past; but you do not necessarily succeed by running away from stating your aims before tournaments   

Picking  Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Jack Wishere, in midfield, looks brave. Add four strikers, and the squad starts to look asymmetrical, especially given that Wayne Rooney's talent and technique straddles the play maker cum striker genre.

I can imagine Roy Hodgson was disinclined to selecting Garreth Barry and Michael Carrick  due to the possible stigma of having four over-thirty's in his squad of midfielders. Whereas, the rational point should be: aren't they needed? if Captain Steven Gerrard picks-up a debilitating knock in the tournament, there would be potentially huge problems. Only Jack Wilshere has the distributive skills of Gerrard, but he has no experience at world cup level; neither did he have a good season for his Club. 

 
 Daniel Sturridge is flavour of the month, and the media see him as worthy of the alpha-striker status in the World Cup. Yes, the Liverpool striker had an outstanding season, and was the top English goal scorer in the premier league, but it's deluded, an idea to relegate Wayne Rooney, who at 28, has 38 goals in 90 England games; 158 goals in 307 premier League appearances, to the bench. Who does that? Sturridge is on a hot streak, but it is best not to heap unneeded pressure on him.

Wayne Rooney has been derided and scorned by sections of the media in an unfair and hypocritical way over the last year. He was thrash-talked for asking for a transfer from Man Utd this time last year, when his relationship with Alex Fergusson  soured. Even when he played his way back into the Man Utd team, some in the media ridiculed him for not being as good as Luis Suarez, nor Robin van Persie.

The England XI in the World Cup need Wayne Rooney, and Rooney needs the players around him to fire. If as it appears, Roy Hodgson is committed to playing straight-forward attacking football, then Rooney is needed, and the team benefits from his experience. He is a goal scorer, an all round forward, an intelligent team player. I suppose the media fantasise Wayne Rooney as a wrecking ball, and as that has not materialised over the years, their expectation has morphed into disdain. Persecuting Wayne Rooney is a misplaced agenda, churlish and misguided.

In my opinion, England would be better of with a 4-3-3 formation, simply because it is suitable, sustainable and natural to what Hodgson's first choice eleven would be The back four picks itself; the midfield should be a unit of Lampard, Gerrard. and Wilshere, keeping it tight, efficient, and steady - feeding a trio of runners, creators, and goal scorers in Rooney, Sturridge, and Sterling. These three have the talent to play easily in the attacking channels, with the requisite combinations, skill, speed and penetration coming naturally. These three must not be overly choreographed by the manager. Best left to their own devices, I would reckon. What is needed is encouraging support from the full backs - Baines and Johnson. 
 
No one should forget, nor underestimate how Atletico Madrid's simple but effective brand of football brought them the Spanish title in the land of "tiki-taka"; as well as getting them to the champions league final. 
 
England's best chance to win the World cup would manifest via pragmatism and efficiency. Simplicity is genius. But I guess after years of self-deprecation and condescending advice from a legion of foreign players and managers who have graced  the premier league, Hodgson may opt to play to the gallery. 
 
Whatever be the case, the world cup is Roy Hodgson’s watershed moment. If England do well with this crop of players, he would be hailed as a genius. The man who introduced young, bold attacking players to a sterile and labouring team. In the absence of him ever stating any clear objectives, his silence would seem golden. 
 
How ever, if England fumble their lines, Hodgson will be the poster boy for another world cup heart ache. Then his equivocal vibes might well come to haunt him. He would then have to explain where England are heading, and how he intends getting  them there. The penny would have truly dropped after two years of treading water. 

This Mezut Ozil Lynching

First, the media and the garrulous pundits hailed the arrival of Mezut Ozil from Real Madrid for £42 million as the "stellar" signing Arsenal needed. It was supposed to be a coup for Arsenal, the capture of a "world class player!" Whoever came up with this primitive cliche - "world class player" these knob heads in the media use, needs to see a psychiatrist. Can the likes of Jamie Redknapp and Gary Neville explain what a "world class player" looks like?

Ozil has now become the poster boy for everything wrong with Arsenal when they lose a game, just because he cost £42 million. What has the transfer fee got to do with him? Suddenly his stats gets put under the microscope to malevolent intents.  James Olley of the Evening standard  told us that the German international ran less kilometres against Bayern than Wishere and Flamini. This sort of factual non-sense has been used to prosecute and pillory the player incessantly over the last two weeks. This section of the media are the same that thrash-talked Wayne Rooney a few months back. Now the Manchester United number 10 is flavour of the month. Experts? Experts in non-sense!

There are different sorts of play-makers, and Ozil is of the subtle, sleeker variant. A talented, sensitive, and reticent sort of footballer. Certainly deserving better than Gary Neville barracking his defensive performance like he did from the commentary position during Arsenal 0-2 loss to Bayer Munich, at the Emirates. Only a daft person would expect him to run box-to-box, taking on five defenders. That's just not his game. Did you see him do that at Real Madrid?

Arsene Wenger ought to be the one in the firing line here. Yes, Ozil missed a second consecutive penalty; People forget Bayern Munich's David Alaba has also missed twice from the spot this season. Players miss penalties: wether running-up; blasting it; placing it, which ever technique! The real issue was: It was going to be a struggle for the gunners due to the configuration of the team by the manager.

Arsenal had their best game of the season so far on match day 2 of the champions league, when they took on Napoli at the Emirates. Wenger played a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Rosicky playing the crucial role, straddling midfield, and supporting Ozil in attack. There's no doubt Arsenal needed three central midfielders, given the way Bayern keep the ball, and move it swiftly from side-to-side. The best part of their creative play still comes through the middle. It was all too obvious on Wednesday night, they lacked the gravitas to counteract Bayern in the middle; and once Bayer gained that foot-hold, defeat was imminent. Arsenal lost the confidence and the initiative to build attacks. No speed, no outlet, relentless Bayern pressing, meaning they repeatedly surrendered possession, and became sitting ducks for the European champions.

Down to 10 men, Wenger had the opportunity to re-calibrate his faltering side, but once again he made the wrong judgement call taking off Santi Carzola: Perhaps it ought to have been Yaya Sanogo; and  pushing dejected Ozil into the false striker's role...... ball at his feet, he could have precipitated runners ahead of him, thereby sparking an outlet. Oxlade Chamberlain should have been moved to the left to work with Monreal to curb the menace of Robben on Bayern's right wing. Being a balanced player, he too could have offered a counter attacking outlet. Rather, Wenger compromised his play-marker ( Ozil ) to do deep defensive duties - a task unsuitable, unwise, and a blatant tactical error that affected the whole team.  Carzola could have coped better on the right flank, because Alaba and Goatze were not as terrorising as Robben, Lahm / Raffinha.

It would have made a lot more sense starting with Podolski in the striker's berth, with Ozil and Rosicky behind him. Given Rosicky's speed, plus his offensive and defensive nous, Arsenal would have been in better shape.

Rather than the self styled experts in the media aiming their tawdry invectives at Ozil, Perhaps we will be best served if they came up with tactical postulations on how to dethrone this monster called Bayern Munich. Not one of them says anything to buck the trend. They either cluck at how good Bayern are, or crow about  how badly their opponents do! who pays these idiots to do analysis - assaulting our footballing intelligence? Did you notice how Jamie Redknapp talked down Jamie Carragher when he suggested Arsenal rest their big players for the second leg? Redknapp's tone and manners in that particular exchange was symptomatic - tactless, self-serving, cocky in his pronouncements.

It's a shame Guardiola's footballing philosophy leaves many teams spell bound. My take is: teams have got to counteract it. Not by sitting back defending, but by attacking and defending with gusto. I believe Arsenal can play better at the Allianz Arena in the second leg. The core tactical plan should be to attack rapidly from the flanks, generate better dynamism into the spaces Bayern leave behind, and restricting them from committing so many bodies into attack, by not dropping too deep, is a sure fire way to instigate a platform to play. Do that right, and it's a level playing field, anything can happen. It's unacceptable to be so dominated at home, even with ten players.

Going back to Mesut Ozil, there is no doubt he looks short on confidence at the moment. But tell me how many of the close season, mega-bucks signings, in the top five European leagues, is on fire! Players like these go through an adaptation period that varies with each individual. We should not judge Ozil by work rate alone, or tracking back to defend. His contribution in these aspects can only be supplementary. The German would play better after the world cup, given time to settle down into a new team, style, league, and country. Just because he comes with a huge price tag does not mean he is not human. Gervinho was a laughing stock during his time at the Emirates. Right now, he is playing some of his best football for AS Roma, in Italy, lighting up Serie A. Ozil will play much better when Wenger has put in place elements to support his attributes. Wenger is clever and patient, and he would have recognised that. I am sure Ozil will soon put in a superlative display to stem the rancid criticism. I'll bet on that!

Man City: Contenders or Flip Floppers

Manchester City's 1-0 loss to Sunderland in round 11 of the premiership season, was not just the usual turning of the tables on a high profile team by one in relegation quagmire. It was more of an embarrassment for all connected with last season's runners up. It's the third of such kind, following earlier reversals to Cardiff and Aston Villa. Meaning of the four defeats suffered in the league, three have come from teams in the bottom half of the table.

If I were Sheikh Mansour, Manchester City owner, I'll be mad - really mad!! . Here we have one of the biggest spenders in the close season transfer window, investing in a £100 million worth of talent, humbled by a side whose transfer budget was one-tenth that of his Club.  I would be calling the director of football  Tixi Berguristan and chief executive Ferran Sorriano for an explanation. It was the machinations of the pair that led to the dismissal of ex manager, Roberto Mancini.

READ: Mancini takes the bait in City's smoke and mirrors

 It was interesting to read Jan Verthogen's recent comments ahead of Spurs' clash with Man City. The Belgian International spoke in that universal innuendo- of Man City being the strongest side in the league. That idea has been such a fallacy, I wonder if Verthogen is using it as flattery here, or he sees it as fact.

 Sorry, I am not sold on Man City's title chances. They have undoubtedly a galaxy of gifted players, but the core of the team is not as powerful as people may want to believe. Even after the £100 million investment on new players and a trainer, it's tentative at best, if these additions enhance Man City's core - It's what gives a team the calibre to be champions.

 Four defeats in the first eleven games by mid November: you' be hard pressed to find a side that won the premier league on that statistic. 

 New Manager, Chilean, Manuel Pellegrini is experienced enough to know from his Real Madrid flame-out, 3 years ago, that lofty goals, and hastily assembled super stars are not a guaranteed recipe for laurels. His championship credentials in Europe is not particularly attractive, and he needs time to get to grips with the nature of the Premier league, then weave a collection of stars into a proper fighting force to deal with the terrain in the real world of football matches. He asserts that "individual mistakes" rather than "tactical" matters are responsible for city's curious away form.

Here's the deal, their schizophrenic performances and results undermines their credibility to win any of the prizes commensurate with their billing. There are latent, as well as obvious causes to their flip-flop season so far: 

Try this for size: Man city do not have a reliable cover at centre back if especially Captain Vincent Kompany is unavailable. It's been a long standing issue, and the Club have been oblivious to it. Riches in attack, paupers in defence. That malaise is an indirect consequence on Joe Hart's recent unassured goalkeeping.

City have a habit ( or tactic ) of being pensive in their build up to an attack. There is a lack of crispness and quickness. I personally attribute that to Yaya Toure and David Silva who are the brains in attack. Yes, they scored seven against Norwich, and winger Navas has twinkle toes, but they lack that tactical incision, and lethal finishing to terrorise teams constantly. This has been carried over from last season.  Aguero has the potential, but does the pass arrive early?

The team also lacks  that street savvy, like Diego Simone has engendered at Atletico Madrid recently. Amid their opulence, there has been an under-investment in a player(s) of the defensive midfield genre. Nigel de Jong was effective at that in the title winning team. A position that Yaya Toure has to be encouraged to fill like he did in his Barcelona days, freeing up space for a more conventional attacking midfielder.

There is no doubt City will have their moments this season. They've shown that with their demolishing job of Newcatle, Man Utd, Everton, and the fact they are on the verge of qualifying for the champions league knock out stages, but I see their season as being one where there will be more questions than answers. 

The seeds of failure have been sown by frivolous expenditure and expectations. There is a need to coalesce, and solidify the core of the team. It's the hub on which championships are won. Dzeko, Aguero, Negredo, Jovetic: Multi million pound strikers, but the team badly need a rugged centre half. City are a  disparate, rather than homogenous outfit. Those banging on about their potential are misguided and exuberant.  Their means shall not be justified at the end of the season. Sheikh Mansour might well have paid expensively for a bunch of flip floppers, rather than title contenders.

Southampton on the radar

 In a week when Republic of Ireland's new manager Martin O'Neil referred to his immediate successor at Sunderland, Paulo Di Canio, as a "charlatan" for the Italian's uncomplimentary remarks over the "fitness" state of Sunderland players, back when he inherited the job in March this year. Many observers would be forgiven if they had a similar opinion of Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton's Argentine manager, when he took over at Saint Mary's at the beginning of the year.

Not that the ex-Argentine International made any derogatory comments about the players he took over, but his name recognition level was dismally low in England. Pochettino had a relatively obscure playing career; mostly known in his native Argentina; Spain where he played and managed Barcelona's poor relations, Epanyol. His stint as a player in France with PSG and Bordeaux was unremarkable. In his relatively short management spell in the Premiership, he has been self-effacing, and chosen to do interviews through an interpreter, even if it's widely believed he has a grasp of English language.

There was consternation when his predecessor, Nigel Adkins was sacked by Southampton after guiding the South coast club to the premier league. After a turbulent start, had started to turn the corner with a string of impressive results at the tail end of 2012. Even Southampton Legend Matt Letissier criticised the sacking of Nigel Adkings for Mauricio Pochettino.

The 41 year old former centre half has wasted no time in impressing his doubters, by consolidating Southampton's fine form when he took charge, and actually enhancing. There was no bigger stage for the new Southampton boss to announce himself to the premier league, than at Old Trafford at the end of January, when his team terrorised Manchester United, despite a 2-1 loss,  prompting the ex- United manager, Alex Ferguson to confess:

'In the second half Southampton produced the best performance anyone has done here this season,

'They pushed right on top of us and didn't give us time to settle.

'But my experience of this club, when you are going for championships, is that there are always games where you can say we were a bit lucky.

'This was one of those nights.'

I suppose Fergie's comments were a foreshadow of events to come under Southampton's new chief. Pochettino has transformed Saints from a side with just potential, to one with tactical aptitude and consistency in his first full season. They close down opponents high-up the pitch with their 4-2-3-1 formation, score goals, and have become harder to break down. The Club owners were confident to back Pochettino with no less than £35 million for the signings of Pablo Osvaldo; Victor Wanyama; and Dejan Loveren in the summer, adding quality to the squad.

It's little wonder England manager, Roy Hodgson called up three Southampton players ( Ricky Lambert; Jay Rodriguez; and Adam Lallana) in his latest squad to face Chile and Germany. Southampton have a precedent for unearthing major talent, but three exciting players in the England squad is a breath of fresh air, and thanks to Pochettino in no small measure.

Southampton have climbed up to third place in the premier league table, after 11 rounds. This no doubt their best start to a premier league season. Mauricio Pochettino won the manager of the month award for October; he has won 12 of his 30 games in charge, losing only 7.  Maybe people did not heed the warning when they beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield in September.

Sadly, with the publicity they have enjoyed since the call up of three of their players to the England squad, comes greater expectations. Southampton and their manager can no longer expect to fly below raider detection anymore.Teams are going to get better prepared, and games shall get tougher henceforth, then we'll know conclusively what they are made of. But i am willing to bet they will finish in the top seven position this season, and that would be a monumental achievement for the club, it's fans, and their talented manager Mauricio Pochettino.    

 The News that BT bid over £900 Million to win exclusive coverage of champions league football from 2015 - 2018 is an outrage in my opinion. 

 I suppose you'd say it's an independent company, responsible to its share holders. But that's not the point: Their quest to pose a counterweight to SKY's dominance of football coverage is going to trigger the unintended consequence of customers paying more on subscription charges on either, or both platforms

 If BT have to Fork out £2billion for rights to screen premiership and champions league games; plus their coverage of the Bundesliga, Lique 1, and Serie A, that seems like they are overreaching themselves, and surely, when the smoke clears, customers will be asked to pay more.

 It's reprehensible on two levels. 

 First, SKY and ITV have an existing deal which cost both £400 Million to air champions league games till 2015. A deal that encapsulates the interests of everyone, and makes a lot of sense to those on pay TV and those not. Why does BT want exclusive rights? would it not make sense to share a deal with SKY or ITV, and bring down costs for itself and it's subscribers? Is it not an axiom in economics that competition brings down costs? Well, it seems football broadcasting runs contrary to smart economics! How reprehensible is that!

 The other level this grates with me is the hypocrisy of UEFA and the European commission. UEFA talk about Financial Fair play rules for rich clubs, whilst gaming the unsuspecting British public with it's bidding process for Champions league screening rights. The European commission led calls for the de-monopolizastion of SKY's broadcasting rights, a few years back. I wonder if they are asleep or acquiesced to how UEFA have just sold broadcasting rights to a single entity, called BT. 

 There's no doubt UEFA have cashed in on the Maximalist and irresponsible position taken by SKY and BT to competing for broadcast rights. They'll be laughing all the way to the bank, and the British public are taken for suckers. I bet BT's so called "exclusive deal" is inordinate with what the media from other European countries got from UEFA. 

 SKY and BT ought to close ranks, and realise that this orgy they are embarking on creates undue inflationary pressure on their customers. Footballers will take home more pay; UEFA pay lip service, while the fans are left reaped off. If this precedent spirals, it will be a crying shame. I am sure the FA are plotting their share, and Alas, the vast majority of fans - working class people, toil!

Dortmund Decrypted?

The formidable Borrusia Dortmund yellow and black machine abruptly jammed to the dismay of it's fervent followers at the Signal Iduna park on the evening of Wednesday, November 6th . It was Match Day Four in the champions league group stage, and London team, Arsenal were in town for the reverse fixture after losing themselves at home, 1-2.

Jurgen Klopp's men has stood toe-to-toe with arch rivals Bayern Munich and some of Europe's finest teams in the last one year. Who would forget their spectacular 4-1 win against Real Madrid in the first leg of last season's champions league semi final. That was the game that got everyone sitting up to take notice.

It was not only about the fact that Dortmund made it to the finals of the champions league last season that caught the eye, it was also about Dortmund's high energy pressing game; and their razor sharp counter attacking play. A lot of analysts have concluded the Gelsenkirchen outfit are "difficult" to play. I recall respected Bundesliga writer Rafael Honigstein saying "you know what Dortmund are going to do, but stopping them is another thing".


No doubt, Jurgen Klopp has built up an idiosyncratic team, and derives maximum efficiency from his young players. But the manner in which they defeated Arsenal two weeks ago had prompted this blogger to state  thus :

I really do not expect Dortmund to do the double over Arsenal despite their 6-1 demolition of Stuttgart in their last game , and lots of pundits concluding an easy win for Dortmund. They will be mistaken to underestimate Arsenal.  Remember Arsenal destroying Norwich 4-1 before the first leg?  Football is full of surprises, and I am predicting Arsenal to triumph in Germany to a lot of surprise!

Here's the thing with soccer: any successful team tends to carry an exaggerated potency, till demystified. Dortmund's swashbuckling tactical philosophy may well have been decrypted in their home defeat to Arsenal. Klopp's team have mastered the craft of exploiting space with speed, after ensnaring teams in their own half. But what Arsenal revealed in their win in Germany is that, perhaps the best way to play Dortmund is to circumvent their pressing by keeping the ball cautiously between your defence and midfield zones, where you have most of your players massed, thus protecting the ball better. Arsenal made lots of zigzag passes, taking the sting out of Dortmund's predatory instinct, and slowed down their running power. Arsenal's slowing the game down, watered Dortmund's renowned intensity, and by consequence their danger.

In other words, Dortmund are a more dangerous proposition when opponents attempt to play into their half. Bidding your time forces them to take the initiative in a  more pro-active sense than they would probably prefer. Having said that,  Dortmund did not really deserve to lose this game, as they made enough chances to win. Perhaps they did not deserve to win in London in the first place, so poetic justice was served.

Where to go for the Klopp and the Yellow machine? we'll know better after games against Wolfsburg and Bayern ( In the Bundesliga ) and Napoli ( champions league ) this month. I expect them to continue to ruffle feathers along the way. Gundogan, Hummels, Pisczek should soon return to boost Klopp's options. As long as Dortmund remain good to their playing ethos, soccer aficionados and scholars alike would at least unanimously rule their style innovative and exciting. A median way, at a time when the game is under the influence of Pep Guardiola's inspired tiki-taka ball retention, which some times can be monotonous and boring. The game needs the Dortmund approach, and whatever may have happened this week, I believe  they still have the wind in their sails