So Patrick Vieira has chosen this week as the week to kick off the end of season mind games.
Every season come ‘squeaky bum’ time, the clubs going for the title all look for any little advantage they can get over each other.
What a surprise then that Patrick should open his mouth this week without the care to actually think about what he was saying.
Especially considering the fact that he is a student of a former master of the art - Arsene Wenger.
He should know better.
Arsene usually did.
So used to doing his talking on the pitch, Patrick has opened his mouth to the press and played straight into the hands of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Kevin had ‘Love it’.
Rafa had ‘Facts’.
And if Manchester City capitulate over the coming weeks, don’t be surprised to find numerous mentions of Patrick and ‘Tevez’.
Manchester United were going about their business in their own way and keeping shut - knowing full well that they had the Carlos Tevez card to play at any stage if needed.
Roberto Mancini knew this.
David Platt knew this.
Yet somehow, inexplicably, Patrick judged the situation entirely different to everyone else at the club.
If you are going to fire the first shot of the mind game season - then make sure you have a good defence.
Patrick attacks Sir Alex’s decision to bring back ‘the greatest British midfielder of the last 20 years’ on a free.
A complete legend at the club.
One of the nicest guys in football.
And 9 league games later, having amalgamated 25 points from a possible 27 in the games Paul played, Patrick decides to call it a sign of weakness on United’s part.
In the same period, Manchester City also brought back a player of their own.
A player who refused to go on to the pitch during a key game this season.
A player we were told would never play for the club again.
He goes on a five month holiday in his homeland and is pretty much been condemned from every corner of the footballing world for being the kind of player who personifies everything that is wrong with the beautiful game today.
His return coincides with his team dropping a lead at the top of the table that at one stage was 8 points.
Yet Patrick believes bringing back Paul was the sign a weakness?
A disgusting situation that wouldn’t go away in January despite City’s best attempts to off load their Argentinian has once again reared it’s ugly head thanks in no small part to Patrick’s attempt at mind games.
The last thing Roberto would have wanted is any more press surrounding Carlos Tevez.
He knows himself that by bringing back the player he said would never play for him again - he has invited scrutiny upon his title charge.
Carlos has become a spotlight for weakness.
A spotlight for desperation.
A spotlight that could potentially derail his clubs title challenge.
And it was his own clubs ‘football development executive’ who turned it on.
Patrick has once again demonstrated just how effective a talker he is.
It’s just a pity that Patrick can no longer do his talking on the pitch...
Showing posts with label Carlos Tevez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carlos Tevez. Show all posts
Monday, 26 March 2012
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Robin 'The Man' Persie?
Robin Van Persie is going through a terrific run of form right now.
It’s lasted about a year.
And he looks like he’s finally fulfilling his obvious potential.
I just wonder whether Robin would be getting as many plaudits if he were playing for a better team?
Since Arsenal have started upon their downward spiral, any competition Robin may have had up front has dissipated.
He is the main man.
Largely due to his form in front of goal.
But you cannot ignore the fact the he has no other competition for places up front.
It’s lasted about a year.
And he looks like he’s finally fulfilling his obvious potential.
I just wonder whether Robin would be getting as many plaudits if he were playing for a better team?
Since Arsenal have started upon their downward spiral, any competition Robin may have had up front has dissipated.
He is the main man.
Largely due to his form in front of goal.
But you cannot ignore the fact the he has no other competition for places up front.
No player that Arsene Wenger can trust anyway.
This gives Robin centre stage every game.
Marouane Chamakh, Chu-Young Park, and Gervinho have made up the rest of Arsenal’s attack all season.
They have 5 goals between them.
In the past, Robin was part of an Arsenal attack that included players such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.
Arsene could afford to rely on players of the same class as Robin and the responsibilities were shared.
But right now, not only does Robin start every game, he is also their main penalty kick taker.
Their main free-kick taker.
And every attack gets played through him.
Rarely does he find himself out wide with the ball trying to create opportunities for others.
His job is to stay central and convert the opportunities created for him.
A job he is doing extremely well.
But if we are to judge Robin as one of the worlds best, and ask if he is the best, then he needs to play on a bigger stage.
It’s one thing being the main man at club who currently lye in seventh place in the Premier League as we enter the home straight.
It’s another being one of the main men at a club challenging for the league.
Wayne Rooney gets ‘dropped’ for two games against weaker opposition over Christmas and Dimitar Berbatov scores 5 goals.
Edin Dzeko scores 4 goals against Tottenham and gets ‘dropped’ for the next game.
Man City can even afford to loan Emmanuel Adebayor out to a main rival, drop Carlos Tevez indefinitely and still have three strikers in the same calibre as Robin.
If any of these players were given the same focus by their teams as Robin is, they would surely be on the same goal tally.
Didier Drogba was the main man at Chelsea yet two of the last three seasons has finished behind Nicolas Anelka in the scoring charts.
Not because Nicolas was the better player, but Didier was ‘dropped’ against the weaker teams, where goals are plentiful, and saved for the big games.
Fernando Torres looked like one of the worlds top attackers when at Liverpool.
The team was based around him.
David Ngog was his only competition for places.
Yet now at Chelsea, they have too many good attackers to play everything through the now hapless looking Spaniard.
No longer the main man.
No longer considered amongst the world’s best.
Which is exactly where Robin finds himself now.
A world class attacker.
One of the best around.
But if he is to be mentioned in the top three instead of just the top ten, he’ll need Arsene to take Arsenal back to where they were.
Or maybe look for a brighter stage...
This gives Robin centre stage every game.
Marouane Chamakh, Chu-Young Park, and Gervinho have made up the rest of Arsenal’s attack all season.
They have 5 goals between them.
In the past, Robin was part of an Arsenal attack that included players such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.
Arsene could afford to rely on players of the same class as Robin and the responsibilities were shared.
But right now, not only does Robin start every game, he is also their main penalty kick taker.
Their main free-kick taker.
And every attack gets played through him.
Rarely does he find himself out wide with the ball trying to create opportunities for others.
His job is to stay central and convert the opportunities created for him.
A job he is doing extremely well.
But if we are to judge Robin as one of the worlds best, and ask if he is the best, then he needs to play on a bigger stage.
It’s one thing being the main man at club who currently lye in seventh place in the Premier League as we enter the home straight.
It’s another being one of the main men at a club challenging for the league.
Wayne Rooney gets ‘dropped’ for two games against weaker opposition over Christmas and Dimitar Berbatov scores 5 goals.
Edin Dzeko scores 4 goals against Tottenham and gets ‘dropped’ for the next game.
Man City can even afford to loan Emmanuel Adebayor out to a main rival, drop Carlos Tevez indefinitely and still have three strikers in the same calibre as Robin.
If any of these players were given the same focus by their teams as Robin is, they would surely be on the same goal tally.
Didier Drogba was the main man at Chelsea yet two of the last three seasons has finished behind Nicolas Anelka in the scoring charts.
Not because Nicolas was the better player, but Didier was ‘dropped’ against the weaker teams, where goals are plentiful, and saved for the big games.
Fernando Torres looked like one of the worlds top attackers when at Liverpool.
The team was based around him.
David Ngog was his only competition for places.
Yet now at Chelsea, they have too many good attackers to play everything through the now hapless looking Spaniard.
No longer the main man.
No longer considered amongst the world’s best.
Which is exactly where Robin finds himself now.
A world class attacker.
One of the best around.
But if he is to be mentioned in the top three instead of just the top ten, he’ll need Arsene to take Arsenal back to where they were.
Or maybe look for a brighter stage...
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Watch out Barcelona. Manchester City are coming...
For exactly 100 games now, Manchester City have been going about things the right way.
The constant criticisms of negative defensive football are steadily dissipating.
For the last season and a half, Roberto Mancini has spent his time building from the back, focusing on defensive duties first.
Teaching his ‘team’ how to play as a team.
Slowly but surely he has started to let his team off their leash.
And on Sunday - they exploded.
Against the second best team in the world - Manchester United.
Who’ve reached 3 of the last 4 Champions League finals.
Won 4 of the last 5 Premier League titles.
Yet Manchester City managed to beat them 6-1 in their own backyard.
The 6 goals were not actually the impressive part.
In reality, they were 3-1 up against ten men in the 90th minute.
It was the fact that United had dropped only 2 points at home in the whole of last season.
And suddenly City had taken 3 points off them.
By starting to produce some of the best football seen in the Premier League since it began.
City are on course to overtake Arsenal as the critics favourite footballing side.
For years now Critics have labelled the talented North London side as the best in England.
But while Arsenal were thrilling us with their attacking flair, United and Chelsea were busy lifting trophies.
Beautiful on the eye yet ultimately no substance.
However, Man City are not trying to emulate Arsenal.
They’re aiming much higher than that.
Roberto is building a team full of style and substance.
A team that has just managed to topple the Champions in their own back yard after all.
And when you beat the second best team in the world - there’s only one team you can go after.
Barcelona.
A team they are fast becoming like, but - whisper it - more attacking.
The City formation may well go on to become as synonymous as the Ajax formation the way things are building.
The Barcelona way is to have 4 defensive players, 3 link players and 3 attackers.
City have gone with 4 attackers.
The 4 defenders defend, get the ball to the 2 link players in midfield and in turn they just look for an attacker.
Any attacker.
They all play the same.
Silva, Balotelli, Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko, Nasri, Milner, Johnson.
All can play anywhere across the front four.
All do.
Barcelona use 3 attackers that can play anywhere - Messi, Pedro and Villa.
Roberto has gone with 1 more.
Neutrals should be licking their lips all over the world.
Here is a team, with ambitions of being the best in the world, going about this ambition in the right way.
Humility at management level.
Great handling of a parasite like Tevez.
Even the fans - so long telling us they are the real fans in Manchester - have invented their own unique celebration.
They’re loving every minute of it.
So should we.
And now they are going after Barcelona.
With 1 more attacker in hand.
So good luck City.
We’re all behind you.
Except for Barcelona...
The constant criticisms of negative defensive football are steadily dissipating.
For the last season and a half, Roberto Mancini has spent his time building from the back, focusing on defensive duties first.
Teaching his ‘team’ how to play as a team.
Slowly but surely he has started to let his team off their leash.
And on Sunday - they exploded.
Against the second best team in the world - Manchester United.
Who’ve reached 3 of the last 4 Champions League finals.
Won 4 of the last 5 Premier League titles.
Yet Manchester City managed to beat them 6-1 in their own backyard.
The 6 goals were not actually the impressive part.
In reality, they were 3-1 up against ten men in the 90th minute.
It was the fact that United had dropped only 2 points at home in the whole of last season.
And suddenly City had taken 3 points off them.
By starting to produce some of the best football seen in the Premier League since it began.
City are on course to overtake Arsenal as the critics favourite footballing side.
For years now Critics have labelled the talented North London side as the best in England.
But while Arsenal were thrilling us with their attacking flair, United and Chelsea were busy lifting trophies.
Beautiful on the eye yet ultimately no substance.
However, Man City are not trying to emulate Arsenal.
They’re aiming much higher than that.
Roberto is building a team full of style and substance.
A team that has just managed to topple the Champions in their own back yard after all.
And when you beat the second best team in the world - there’s only one team you can go after.
Barcelona.
A team they are fast becoming like, but - whisper it - more attacking.
The City formation may well go on to become as synonymous as the Ajax formation the way things are building.
The Barcelona way is to have 4 defensive players, 3 link players and 3 attackers.
City have gone with 4 attackers.
The 4 defenders defend, get the ball to the 2 link players in midfield and in turn they just look for an attacker.
Any attacker.
They all play the same.
Silva, Balotelli, Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko, Nasri, Milner, Johnson.
All can play anywhere across the front four.
All do.
Barcelona use 3 attackers that can play anywhere - Messi, Pedro and Villa.
Roberto has gone with 1 more.
Neutrals should be licking their lips all over the world.
Here is a team, with ambitions of being the best in the world, going about this ambition in the right way.
Humility at management level.
Great handling of a parasite like Tevez.
Even the fans - so long telling us they are the real fans in Manchester - have invented their own unique celebration.
They’re loving every minute of it.
So should we.
And now they are going after Barcelona.
With 1 more attacker in hand.
So good luck City.
We’re all behind you.
Except for Barcelona...
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