Gareth Bale has been rumored to be moving on from London ever since he exploded this year. In 2010, the Welshman had his breakout year, scoring 11 goals in 41 appearances for the North London side. He won the PFA Player of the Year award, having two memorable appearances against Inter Milan in the Champions League. He scored a hat trick against the Italian side, on 20 October 2010, making Maicon, then one of the best defenders in the world, look foolish. In the return fixture, he led Spurs to a 3-1 win, setting up two of the team's goals. He drew even more attention this year, winning both the PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. His play, both in the Premier League and in the Europa League, were captivating, drawing many comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo. He looks set now to join the Portugese winger at Real Madrid, on a world record fee.
Andre Villas-Boas and the board of Tottenham had to know that, entering this summer; that much was evident by the transfers they made. Villas-Boas, one of Jose Mourinho's protege's, bought players who, although they would not replace Bale on their own, would, when put into the greater team plan, more than adequately replace him. Paulinho, the Brazilian midfielder, was the first to come in, leaving Corinthians.
The Brazilian is drawing comparisons to Frank Lampard, with both players sporting a box to box style of play. If those predictions should come true, then Paulinho will look back on a very successful career; indeed, Lampard is the only midfielder in Premier League history to have scored more than 150 goals, and is also second on the all time assists list in the league. Paulinho has spent time in Lithuania and Poland, as well as Brazil, before moving to England. If he can get settled in London, then the Brazilian should turn out to be a fantastic signing. Next came the direct replacement for Bale, Nacer Chadli. Chadli, a Belgian winger with ancestors from North Africa, has the physique of Bale, and could play very comfortably in Bale's position. However, the Belgian could also fill in up top as a striker, having played up there for Belgium. Chaldi is reported to bring the type of attacking vision that Spurs lost when they sold Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart. With Bale sure to leave, the Londoners need that vision more than ever. Chadli also brings Champions League experience, from his time with FC Twente; in fact, the Belgian scored against Tottenham twice, in 2010, in that very league. The sale of Clint Dempsey to the MLS side Seattle Sounders announced the beginning of August for Spurs; two days later, Roberto Soldado was confirmed to be joining the club from Valencia for 30 million pounds. The Spanish striker has already proved that that was money well spent, scoring both of Tottenham's goals in the league so far. Etienne Capoue came later in the month, looking to continue in the mold of Tom Huddlestone, Scott Parker, Sandro and Jake Livermore, as a defensive midfielder. He will look to do better than the above stated did at the club, of course. Then followed Erik Lamela, from AS Roma; the Argentine winger tried to single handedly save River Plate from relegation several seasons ago, but when he failed in that near impossible task, he moved to the Italian club. He has been compared to both Javier Pastore and Cristiano Ronaldo, and could play in either role for the club. This adds yet another attacking talent for the club. Christian Eriksen and Vlad Chiriches followed today, in a deal that is reported to reach 50 million euros. Both players are young, and come with experience in European play. Eriksen joins the Premier League from Ajax, a storied club in its own right; he was the youngest player in South Africa several years ago, and was also the Footballer of the Year in Denmark, the country from which he hails, that year. Chiriches played central defender for Steaua Bucuresti last year, and will join a depleted Tottenham back line, featuring only Michael Dawson, Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen at centre back, and Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker at full back. He will be needed desperately, and rounds out a beautifully executed transfer window.
Villas-Boas, in signing seven players to replace one, followed the pattern set by Billy Beane; why pay a lot for one player, who may not even pan out, when you can spread your investments and get a better chance of success. Tottenham is set up for a successful year, both domestically and internationally. And if Bale's transfer falls through, then Spurs will indeed be a fearsome team, able to contend for the title.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
Best Games of the 2012-13 Season: Number One
The best game of the 2013-13 Premier League season is Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United. The October 28th meeting between the two giants turned into one of the most tumultuous games the rivalry has seen in recent years.
Build Up:
Chelsea had led the league for the whole season, up to this point, having not lost a game, getting 22 points out of a possible 24. Roberto Di Matteo's side was coming off a 2-1 loss in the Champions League to Shakhtar Donetsk. The Blues certainly did not want to end their unbeaten streak against the Red Devils, 10 years without a loss at home, tonight; Di Matteo started his best side, with David Luiz and Gary Cahill at the centre backs and Ashley Cole and Bransilav Ivanovic at full backs rounding out the back line. The Three Amigos, Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard, were placed in the midfield, with Fernando Torres up front. Sir Alex Ferguson was without his longtime captain, Nemanja Vidic, and started Johnny Evans and Rio Ferdinand in the center. He did have, however, the two most potent attackers in the league in his starting lineup, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie. Ashley Young, who had been left out because of injury for the past two months, was a starter, rounding out a strong United starting XI.
The Game:
Manchester United opened the scoring in just the 4th minute, when Wayne Rooney passed the ball ahead to Ashley Young. Young waited outside the box for Rooney to continue on his run down the wing, then lead him with a pass. Rooney dribbled into the box, crossed back towards the middle and found RVP. The Dutchman hit a shot that rocketed onto the crossbar; the ball came back off the bar, hit David Luiz in the back, before he could turn around, and went past Petr Cech into the net; although the goal would be credited as a David Luiz own goal, but the credit should go to Van Persie. He did get his goal several minutes later, when Rio Ferdinand started an attack from the back; Rafael moved the ball on up field to Antonio Valencia, who crossed the ball low. RVP again got hold of the ball, redirecting it past Cech and into the net. United now had a 2-0 lead, just 12 minutes in. Chelsea tried to get back into the game, with David Luiz forcing a great leg save from David De Gea, following his trademark spinning shot; Eden Hazard hit a shot just past the post a few minutes later. When John Obi Mikel found himself with rooms of space in the box, he passed into the middle, forcing Michael Carrick to stick out a leg. The ball hit off the leg, went straight into the post, and out for a corner. Bullet dodged for United. Gary Cahill headed the ball straight into the net, and pulled one back for Chelsea... until it hit De Gea's leg. The Blues kept knocking on the door, Fernando Torres forcing a reaction save from the Spanish goalie. The Spaniard continued to defend his goal from the Londoners, until Juan Mata finally broke through in the 44th minute. Mata curled a beautiful free kick past the mass of players, leaving De Gea flat footed. Chelsea almost drew even just seconds later when Juan Mata's shot was saved by, again, the legs of De Gea. Fernando Torres picked up a deserved yellow card when he came in on a challenge too high, hitting Tom Cleverly in the chest.
The second half saw Chelsea draw even after 15 minutes. Oscar's lob pass into the box went too long, forcing Juan Mata to dribble it back to the edge of the box, on the goal line. His cross back in went to Fernando Torres at the far post, but the two United defenders sandwiching him touched the ball on. Oscar was there again to pick the ball up, lobbing the ball back into the scrum/middle of the box. Ramires rose above the rest to head the ball down, past De Gea's leg, and into the back of the net. The Blues were finally on equal terms, 53 minutes into the game. Just seconds later Eden hazard, the Belgian wizard, forced another great save from De Gea. Then, things took a turn for the poor, for Blues fans at least. In the 63rd minute, when Ashley Young broke away, Branislav Ivanovic inexplicably clipped the English players heals, garnering a straight red form referee Mark Clattenberg. It was well deserved, and was one of those times where Ivanovic is Ivanovic. Then, 5 minutes, later, the controversy of the game really heated up. As Daniel Sturridge was preparing to come on, Fernando Torres broke away, splitting United's two center backs. Johnny Evans, as Torres flew by, slide tackled the striker. He didn't make much contact, but enough for Torres to work with; or so the Spaniard thought. When Mark Clattenberg whistled, it was not to award Chelsea a free kick in dangerous territory, but instead to give the Red Devils a free kick... and to send off Torres for a second yellow card. Now look, I understand that there wasn't much contact, and that the striker is prone to diving, but to send someone off... for diving? Maybe in a radical case... but here? Now the Blues were 2 men down, and hopes of winning looked all but lost. Indeed, Javier Hernandez, the classic late goal scorer, condemned the Blues this day, scoring one of the most controversial goals of the season. RVP had hit a shot, that Petr Cech had done just enough to keep out. The ball tipped off his hand, and began rolling back towards the goal, swirling just enough to hit the post; Hernandez, Cech and two Chelsea defenders rushed back, with the Czech goalie clearing the ball off the line. It went straight to Rafael, who hit a shot/cross/I-don't-really-know-what-I'm-doing towards the goal. Chicharito rushed back, redirecting the ball into the net. Then the protests began; replays showed, conclusively, that he was offside; not only was he behind both Chelsea defenders, he was behind Cech too! However, to his credit, he made it look like he had just jumped onside. However, the Blues were really down now, and the game, and 3 points, were lost for good, robbed some Blues fans would say.
Aftermath:
The Blues really felt poor after the crushing defeat, and their play in the following month reflected it; in November, not only did they not win a single game the whole month, but they also were eliminated from the Champions League, becoming the first champions to be knocked out in the group stage the next year. United, on the other hand, went on to have a great month, winning all but one game. From then on out, Chelsea, who had been leading the league, fell steadily behind the Manchester clubs, and United, who had been trailing all year, took over the lead, never giving it back.
Build Up:
Chelsea had led the league for the whole season, up to this point, having not lost a game, getting 22 points out of a possible 24. Roberto Di Matteo's side was coming off a 2-1 loss in the Champions League to Shakhtar Donetsk. The Blues certainly did not want to end their unbeaten streak against the Red Devils, 10 years without a loss at home, tonight; Di Matteo started his best side, with David Luiz and Gary Cahill at the centre backs and Ashley Cole and Bransilav Ivanovic at full backs rounding out the back line. The Three Amigos, Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard, were placed in the midfield, with Fernando Torres up front. Sir Alex Ferguson was without his longtime captain, Nemanja Vidic, and started Johnny Evans and Rio Ferdinand in the center. He did have, however, the two most potent attackers in the league in his starting lineup, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie. Ashley Young, who had been left out because of injury for the past two months, was a starter, rounding out a strong United starting XI.
The Game:
Manchester United opened the scoring in just the 4th minute, when Wayne Rooney passed the ball ahead to Ashley Young. Young waited outside the box for Rooney to continue on his run down the wing, then lead him with a pass. Rooney dribbled into the box, crossed back towards the middle and found RVP. The Dutchman hit a shot that rocketed onto the crossbar; the ball came back off the bar, hit David Luiz in the back, before he could turn around, and went past Petr Cech into the net; although the goal would be credited as a David Luiz own goal, but the credit should go to Van Persie. He did get his goal several minutes later, when Rio Ferdinand started an attack from the back; Rafael moved the ball on up field to Antonio Valencia, who crossed the ball low. RVP again got hold of the ball, redirecting it past Cech and into the net. United now had a 2-0 lead, just 12 minutes in. Chelsea tried to get back into the game, with David Luiz forcing a great leg save from David De Gea, following his trademark spinning shot; Eden Hazard hit a shot just past the post a few minutes later. When John Obi Mikel found himself with rooms of space in the box, he passed into the middle, forcing Michael Carrick to stick out a leg. The ball hit off the leg, went straight into the post, and out for a corner. Bullet dodged for United. Gary Cahill headed the ball straight into the net, and pulled one back for Chelsea... until it hit De Gea's leg. The Blues kept knocking on the door, Fernando Torres forcing a reaction save from the Spanish goalie. The Spaniard continued to defend his goal from the Londoners, until Juan Mata finally broke through in the 44th minute. Mata curled a beautiful free kick past the mass of players, leaving De Gea flat footed. Chelsea almost drew even just seconds later when Juan Mata's shot was saved by, again, the legs of De Gea. Fernando Torres picked up a deserved yellow card when he came in on a challenge too high, hitting Tom Cleverly in the chest.
The second half saw Chelsea draw even after 15 minutes. Oscar's lob pass into the box went too long, forcing Juan Mata to dribble it back to the edge of the box, on the goal line. His cross back in went to Fernando Torres at the far post, but the two United defenders sandwiching him touched the ball on. Oscar was there again to pick the ball up, lobbing the ball back into the scrum/middle of the box. Ramires rose above the rest to head the ball down, past De Gea's leg, and into the back of the net. The Blues were finally on equal terms, 53 minutes into the game. Just seconds later Eden hazard, the Belgian wizard, forced another great save from De Gea. Then, things took a turn for the poor, for Blues fans at least. In the 63rd minute, when Ashley Young broke away, Branislav Ivanovic inexplicably clipped the English players heals, garnering a straight red form referee Mark Clattenberg. It was well deserved, and was one of those times where Ivanovic is Ivanovic. Then, 5 minutes, later, the controversy of the game really heated up. As Daniel Sturridge was preparing to come on, Fernando Torres broke away, splitting United's two center backs. Johnny Evans, as Torres flew by, slide tackled the striker. He didn't make much contact, but enough for Torres to work with; or so the Spaniard thought. When Mark Clattenberg whistled, it was not to award Chelsea a free kick in dangerous territory, but instead to give the Red Devils a free kick... and to send off Torres for a second yellow card. Now look, I understand that there wasn't much contact, and that the striker is prone to diving, but to send someone off... for diving? Maybe in a radical case... but here? Now the Blues were 2 men down, and hopes of winning looked all but lost. Indeed, Javier Hernandez, the classic late goal scorer, condemned the Blues this day, scoring one of the most controversial goals of the season. RVP had hit a shot, that Petr Cech had done just enough to keep out. The ball tipped off his hand, and began rolling back towards the goal, swirling just enough to hit the post; Hernandez, Cech and two Chelsea defenders rushed back, with the Czech goalie clearing the ball off the line. It went straight to Rafael, who hit a shot/cross/I-don't-really-know-what-I'm-doing towards the goal. Chicharito rushed back, redirecting the ball into the net. Then the protests began; replays showed, conclusively, that he was offside; not only was he behind both Chelsea defenders, he was behind Cech too! However, to his credit, he made it look like he had just jumped onside. However, the Blues were really down now, and the game, and 3 points, were lost for good, robbed some Blues fans would say.
Aftermath:
The Blues really felt poor after the crushing defeat, and their play in the following month reflected it; in November, not only did they not win a single game the whole month, but they also were eliminated from the Champions League, becoming the first champions to be knocked out in the group stage the next year. United, on the other hand, went on to have a great month, winning all but one game. From then on out, Chelsea, who had been leading the league, fell steadily behind the Manchester clubs, and United, who had been trailing all year, took over the lead, never giving it back.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Best Games of the 2012-13 Season: Number Two
The Number two game on this years list is Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United. The Manchester derby always promises to be exciting, and has, in past years, not disappointed; this game, however, was exceptional even by the derby's standards.
Build Up:
United was leading City by 3 points when this game was played, on the 9th of December. Chelsea's poor run of form in November had allowed both teams to jump the Blues in the standings. United's defense had been a problem throughout the season, with Ferguson starting Michael Carrick in defense early on in the year. That day, Sir Alex gave Patrice Evra and Rafael the fullback jobs, with Johnny Evans and Rio Ferdinand in the middle. He also sat Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez for RVP and Wayne Rooney, a justifiable decision. On the other side, Roberto Mancini favored Mario Balotelli over Carlos Tevez; the Italian was joined up front by Sergio Aguero. He also started Matijia Nastasic over Joleen Lescott and Kolo Toure.
The Game:
The first goal of the game came 15 minutes in, when Patrice Evra chipped a ball 15 yards forward, from deep in his own half, to Ashley Young. Young headed the ball straight back another ten yards to RVP, who returned the pass to the Englishman. The winger dribbled for 10 or 15 yards down the wing, before hitting a short pass into the middle to Wayne Rooney. Rooney took the ball across the box, and, when he had reached the middle, with all his momentum going right, hit the ball all the way back across the goal, to the left. Joe Hart was caught completely flat footed, not even being able to dive to stop the ball. Rooney scored again to widen the Reds lead when, in the 28th minute, he got on the end of a low Rafael cross, redirecting it past Joe Hart. Michael Carrick had started the move, making a beautiful 30 yard lob pass to Antonio Valencia. The Ecuadorian played a through ball straight ahead to the streaking Rafael, who in turn crossed it in. City was down, going into the half, 2 goals, to United, at home.
Things got better though, for in the 60th minute, off several beautiful saves by David De Gea, Yaya Toure one timed a Carlos Tevez pass into the back of the net. It was disappointing for De Gea, who had made so many great saves on the play, only to be beat by a simple shot. City finally pulled even 25 minutes later, when a Tevez corner kick was headed out into the middle of the box, almost outside of it in fact, by RVP, standing 5 yards ahead of the front post. Pablo Zabaleta ran onto the ball, with no Red shirts for about a mile around him. The Argentine half volleyed the shot past De Gea, who was blocked by the large group of played directly in front of him. City and their fans had thought that they now had a point. But not so, said RVP, or perhaps better put, Samir Nasri. RVP had a free kick about 35 yards out of the box, on the right side, near the corner of the box. He curled the kick around the wall and past Joe Hart. The ball would have hit Samir Nasri in the chest, had he not been a panzi. The former Arsenal player tried to duck behind his other two teammates in the wall and just stick out a leg. That leg, in fact, helped the ball get more height, and thus go into the net. So United got the win in the Emirates, in the Manchester darby.
Aftermath:
Rio Ferdinand was hit in the face with a coin while celebrating RVP's winner, and a fan tried to run at the ref, but those ugly scenes do not reflect on the whole game. After all, Joe Hart defended Ferdinand from a City fan when the pitch invader tried to attack the United defender. All in all, it was a fantastic game, worthy of the number two spot. United would go on to win the title, dominating the league from that point on.
Stay tuned for the rest of Pitch View's countdown to the Premier League season.
Build Up:
United was leading City by 3 points when this game was played, on the 9th of December. Chelsea's poor run of form in November had allowed both teams to jump the Blues in the standings. United's defense had been a problem throughout the season, with Ferguson starting Michael Carrick in defense early on in the year. That day, Sir Alex gave Patrice Evra and Rafael the fullback jobs, with Johnny Evans and Rio Ferdinand in the middle. He also sat Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez for RVP and Wayne Rooney, a justifiable decision. On the other side, Roberto Mancini favored Mario Balotelli over Carlos Tevez; the Italian was joined up front by Sergio Aguero. He also started Matijia Nastasic over Joleen Lescott and Kolo Toure.
The Game:
The first goal of the game came 15 minutes in, when Patrice Evra chipped a ball 15 yards forward, from deep in his own half, to Ashley Young. Young headed the ball straight back another ten yards to RVP, who returned the pass to the Englishman. The winger dribbled for 10 or 15 yards down the wing, before hitting a short pass into the middle to Wayne Rooney. Rooney took the ball across the box, and, when he had reached the middle, with all his momentum going right, hit the ball all the way back across the goal, to the left. Joe Hart was caught completely flat footed, not even being able to dive to stop the ball. Rooney scored again to widen the Reds lead when, in the 28th minute, he got on the end of a low Rafael cross, redirecting it past Joe Hart. Michael Carrick had started the move, making a beautiful 30 yard lob pass to Antonio Valencia. The Ecuadorian played a through ball straight ahead to the streaking Rafael, who in turn crossed it in. City was down, going into the half, 2 goals, to United, at home.
Things got better though, for in the 60th minute, off several beautiful saves by David De Gea, Yaya Toure one timed a Carlos Tevez pass into the back of the net. It was disappointing for De Gea, who had made so many great saves on the play, only to be beat by a simple shot. City finally pulled even 25 minutes later, when a Tevez corner kick was headed out into the middle of the box, almost outside of it in fact, by RVP, standing 5 yards ahead of the front post. Pablo Zabaleta ran onto the ball, with no Red shirts for about a mile around him. The Argentine half volleyed the shot past De Gea, who was blocked by the large group of played directly in front of him. City and their fans had thought that they now had a point. But not so, said RVP, or perhaps better put, Samir Nasri. RVP had a free kick about 35 yards out of the box, on the right side, near the corner of the box. He curled the kick around the wall and past Joe Hart. The ball would have hit Samir Nasri in the chest, had he not been a panzi. The former Arsenal player tried to duck behind his other two teammates in the wall and just stick out a leg. That leg, in fact, helped the ball get more height, and thus go into the net. So United got the win in the Emirates, in the Manchester darby.
Aftermath:
Rio Ferdinand was hit in the face with a coin while celebrating RVP's winner, and a fan tried to run at the ref, but those ugly scenes do not reflect on the whole game. After all, Joe Hart defended Ferdinand from a City fan when the pitch invader tried to attack the United defender. All in all, it was a fantastic game, worthy of the number two spot. United would go on to win the title, dominating the league from that point on.
Stay tuned for the rest of Pitch View's countdown to the Premier League season.
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