The False 9

The False 9

The managerial merry-go-round has another headline! After Paolo di Canio, Martin Jol and Steve Clarke, Andre Villa Boas (AVB) has now joined the infamous list of the 2013-14 season.  I guess the story on everyone’s lips is did the Spurs manager deserve to get the flick with the busiest period of the year kicking into full swing. Personally as an Arsenal fan it is great to see the other side of London struggling, but I can’t help but feel just a touch sorry for AVB. Last year Spurs tallied 72 points during the season and still missed out on a Champions League (CL) berth. Any other year, they would have made it. Imagine that. AVB did everything he could, plus more, but still couldn’t push down the invisible gate leading to the ballpark of football giants. This disappointment had a domino effect. Gareth Bale soon jumped ship as there was no CL football on the horizon for him and this led to Spurs spending over 100 million Euros on European stars from a variety of leagues. Think about it. A couple more points and a bit of luck here or there and AVB could have been settled into his tenure, been playing midweek CL football and still have the services of one of the world’s best players in Bale. How he wishes he could turn back the clock... But that’s life! He had access to funds to build the team he wanted and they just haven’t gelled. Has he lost the respect of the players? Did he ever have their respect? AVB built a side last year that were fearless and at one point were talked about as title contenders. He must have been doing something right. He built his team on being clinical and utilising the strengths of the team, mainly giving Bale the ball! However this season five new attacking talents couldn’t collate to the quality of one individual star.

In light of everything you’ve just read, does he deserve to go? They are only sitting 2 wins outside the top 4 and until their shellacking by the Reds they had won 3 games on the bounce and started looking like they were starting to find some form. Some will say this was one blip too many. I don’t think it warranted being sacked though. Losing 5-0 or 2-1, you still get the same amount of points and a loss is a loss. Sure he may have abused the fans and had a crack at the media, but most of his points were true! Have the home fans created a foul mood at White Hart Lane? Yes. Has the media been untoward in their assessment. I think so. He didn’t go the right way about publicising this, but that’s beside the point. Who are they going to bring in of better quality? No one. Good luck sitting on an interim manager for the time being, as the fixtures stack up considerably over Christmas. A bit of stability would’ve been no harm, plus it would give the side more time to change their ways without worrying about how the new manager will want to play. AVB will be keen to flee the country as soon as he can, but I hope it is more a case of ‘see you again soon’ rather than ‘go and never come back’.

Man United vs West Ham

With Robin Van Persie out for a month, the focus is on Danny Welbeck to fill the void left by the Dutch number 9. He started with aplomb last week scoring two goals and providing the side with critical link up play when needed. This was a crucial league win for David Moyes’ men and allows them to focus on what lies ahead rather than dwelling on the lows of the last month. With a struggling West Ham coming to town, the Red Devils should feel confident in registering back to back wins, especially against a side that has scored once in their last 3 games. With Winston Reid still out, look for United to string together another crucial 3 points as they look to fight their way out of the mid table maze.

Time for Danny Wellbeck to step up

Sunderland vs Norwich:

Have Sunderland turned the corner on their season with a League cup win over Chelsea?! I thoroughly hope so. After sacking one manager already this season, the side finally have something to build on and assist them in attempting to move out of the bottom 3. Their 2 scorers were loan signings, however this team is starting to show some ticker. Whether that will be enough to see them pocketing the 3 points, we shall soon see. Norwich have been up and down all year long and that’s why they find themselves sitting in the bottom half of the table. I expected Norwich to kick on from their 11th place last year, but they are struggling to find their feet. In Chris Hughton they have a fantastic manager and surely the gears will start clicking through the motions in the next month. Sunderland will be running on adrenaline after the win over Chelsea and I can definitely see them riding the wave of optimism to the 3 points this weekend.

Southampton vs Tottenham

This is just as big a match for the Saints as it is for Tottenham. With only 2 points taken from a possible 15 in their last 5 games, the honeymoon period is well and truly over for the Saints. Pochettino’s men need to start stringing together the type of football they were producing at the start of the year, which saw them playing up tempo football with a high pressing game that gave the opposition no time on the ball! Get back to defence first and attack second and I think they will be just fine. However a team coming off having their manager sacked are usually very dangerous and can be out to prove a point. With interim manager Tim Sherwood wanting to stake his claim for the coverted hot seat as well, Spurs could potentially have a fire within them. In saying that, I can’t see the Saints letting up on Spurs especially at home. Considering Spurs have a League cup game today too, it’s not looking in their favour at all.

Arsenal vs Chelsea

The biggie! Chelsea have failed to grasp the definition of consistency and once again they lead into a big game after a shock loss. Defeat to Sunderland in the League cup this week has left many supporters for the first time starting to doubt ‘The Chosen One’, Jose Mourinho. They are leaking goals too easily and failing to score the gimmies that you’d expect from this outfit. The one thing in their favour is usually after a loss they come back hot! Arsenal had a mare of a week dropping games against City and Napoli, as well as a draw with Everton. I personally see it as a good thing, because you’re going to go through tough patches and we will see what the Arsenal character is like when they like up on Christmas eve (NZ time).  With a good 8 day break in between games, Arsenal should have no excuses going into this one! My money is on an Arsenal home win, with Walcott starring for the Gunners as he continues his return from injury!

Further Predictions

Liverpool vs Cardiff – Liverpool
Crystal Palace vs Newcastle – Draw
Fulham vs Man City – Draw
Stoke City vs Aston Villa – Stoke
West Brow vs Hull City – West Brom
Swansea vs Everton - Draw

False 9 - Midweek mayhem

With a double gameweek fast approaching us with games being played Thursday morning (NZ Time), I’ve put together a quick preview of all the games so nothing is left out as the festive season gets closer and closer. 6/10 games picked correctly wasn’t the greatest week, but with Liverpool getting stunned, there are no complaints from me. Thank God for the festive season, a buffet of football is about to come towards us. Time to enjoy.

Crystal Palace vs West Ham

Sitting in last place, Palace need to start winning some home games to somehow prove they deserve to be in the big boys league. A game against West Ham could do the trick, although they are coming off a convincing 3-0 win over Fulham. Without Winston Reid I have no idea how they kept a clean sheet, but credit it to Jaaskelainen and co at the back for a determined display. For Palace, scoring goals is the problem and oh how they wish Chamakh went back to the form he started with when first moving to England with Arsenal. Between Jerome, Kebe and Chamakh, the ball needs to start finding the back of the net, otherwise this game and many others will lead to a slow stroll back to the Championship. Prediction: Draw

Man United vs Everton

Roberto Martinez’s Everton side are quietly flying under the radar. With only 1 loss this season in the EPL (who would’ve guessed that!) they can quietly thank gentle giant Romelu Lukaku. 8 goals in 11 games is by far a better goal tally than inconsistent Toffees gone by such as Yakubu, Anichebe, Saha and Jelavic. With a physical presence not seen at Goodison Park in many a year, Lukaku is helping put this team on his back as he continues to defy Mourinho and prove what a waste sending him out on loan was. A man with a point to prove is a man worth keeping.

Romelu Lukaku doubles up on the one finger salute

Coming off a draw at White Hart Lane, the Red Devils will be looking to be back in home comforts against the Toffees. Lets be honest, with Rooney at the helm this side stands a chance against any team with the form he is showing! Get into Rooney’s head and Everton will likely steal a point at Old Trafford. Prediction: Draw

Arsenal vs Hull City

A huge win for Hull over Liverpool on the weekend has lifted the spirits of Steve Bruce’s men, but can they back it up less than a week later? My thoughts are they have had their big performance for the week and it will be back to reality against an Arsenal side starting to purr with confidence. If Hull can keep the game tight till after HT the home fans may get frustrated and turn the atmosphere sour, to Hull’s liking. However the way the Gunners have been playing, it doesn’t look like Hull will be stopping the Ozil/Ramsey/Giroud train anytime soon. This game could be a blowout to the home side.
Prediction: Arsenal win.

Liverpool vs Norwich

So no more SAS for the next 2 months. Without Sturridge, Liverpool lack a bit of that shiny edge they were showing in patches. But who’s to say Suarez can’t make up for his absence and really start carrying this side like he did last season. If the Reds are going to collect points, watch Suarez single handily take over games as he has turned into my pick for golden boot winner! Norwich are coming off a vital win against Palace and will look to put back to back wins together at Anfield. Liverpool will this find this game tough, but should scrape through in the end against Chris Hughton’s men.
Prediction: Liverpool win.

Southampton vs Aston Villa

Back to back defeats against title challengers Arsenal and Chelsea has bought the Saints back down to earth after their brilliant start. Funny thing is they played quite well in both those matches without taking the 3 points, having scored first against Chelsea and staying with Arsenal for 85 minutes the week before. Look for them to get back to winning ways against a struggling Villa who could only draw 0-0 with Sunderland on the weekend. After starting the season hot, Christian Benteke has not scored in the last 9 games... If your top scorer hasn’t scored in 9 games, you know you’re struggling. The Saints should happily march on this weekend. Prediction: Southampton win.

Fulham vs Tottenham

I finally feel vindicated. After weeks of insisting Martin Jol was going to get the sack, he eventually did! Could Fulham under new management shock struggling Spurs at home?! We have seen stranger things. Spurs put in a much better shift against United but still came up short. If they put in the same performance against Fulham, they will run away with the points and get their season back on track. However combining first game with a new manager for Fulham and Spurs being away from home, this could be a dangerous match for Spurs. Prediction: Tottenham win (just!)

Stoke vs Cardiff City

To be honest this game is a huge lottery. Both are not playing the best football and are coming off respective losses against Everton and Arsenal. I would love to say this will be a high scoring affair, but I personally can’t see it happening. Stoke at home should at least come out and push for the win, which could see Walters and Crouch get in on the action, but unless they can stop conceding goals it won’t matter. I would love to see Cardiff get up as they have been a feel good story so far taking points off both Manchester clubs. Look for Cardiff to push the Potters, however away from home Stoke should get the goods come the end of the 90 minutes. Prediction: Stoke win.

Sunderland vs Chelsea

Sunderland are coming off a boring 0-0 draw with Aston Villa, however they would happily take this result against a Chelsea side starting to find their stride. With Oscar coming off injured on the weekend, it could be a welcome sign for Juan Mata (remember him) to push his claims for the number 10 role on a more frequent basis. This reshuffle shouldn’t affect the Blues too much and they should have little problem dispatching the Black Cats. However Sunderland needs to start winning their home games. Could now be a start? As an Arsenal supporter it would be nice... Prediction: Chelsea win.

Swansea vs Newcastle

Michu bro, where you been?

Swansea are not having the year they had hoped so far. Sitting in the bottom half of the table is not what they envisioned after their League Cup win last year. Striker Michu has been unheard of this year after being a summer transfer target by many clubs, and with 2 goals this campaign there may be a few buyers who were glad the price wasn’t right this time. Newcastle have won 4 on the trot and are picking up pace as they push for higher honours. A sound defence has got them through this the last month with only 2 goals conceded and 2 clean sheets. They will need to be at their defensive best to keep their winning streak alive away from home at the Liberty. Prediction: Draw

West Brom vs Man City

This could be the match of the round. How can you be so good at home and borderline awful away? With City’s away form being the talk of the town, West Brom must fancy a sniff against the rich boys from the blue side of Manchester. After smashing teams at home, left, right and centre, getting back on the road isn’t what City will want. It is like travelling to smaller stadium’s is a waste of their time and they want to get out as quickly as they can, win, lose or draw. Maybe the facilities aren’t up to their likings, but whatever it is, it needs to change fast because it has already cost them dearly. The likes of Shane Long and Stephane Sessagnon will be enthusiastically looking forward to putting the timid City back 4 under pressure, and try heap more pressure on City’s away form. The longer this game stays close, the more City will feel the pinch and I can see West Brom stealing a point here. Prediction: Draw