Villas-Boas exits but still in good stock

Posted: March 5, 2012 by thebhoymcclay in Football, Uncategorized
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Portuguese manager Andre Villas-Boas has become another victim of Roman Abramovich’s crazy lust for instant success as he exits nine months into the Stamford Bridge hot seat. Seven have been axed by the owner during his tenure and with former Liverpool boss, Rafael Benitez, installed as the bookies favourite to be the next Chelsea manager, you can’t see him lasting much longer.

AVB as he became known, emerged on Abramovich’s radar following his domestic and Europa League treble winning feat of 2011 with FC Porto –any comparisons becoming clear yet? (He also was part of The Special Ones’ backroom team at Internazionale & Porto). Onlookers predicted he may follow Jose Mourinho’s European success by taking his Europa League winning graduates one step further to the Champions League –but Chelsea came calling for the new boy on the block, possibly too soon, and the crazy goldfish bowl of the English Premiership beckoned. He inherited a squad which was in a quandary and disorderly in its age and abilities. Something he also took on was some rather meddlesome experienced first-team stars and an owner with ideas above his station on how “his team” and “his players” should be playing.

Villas-Boas required a clear-out and if he had any hope of succeeding, John Terry and Frank Lampard had to go –their constant actions and undermining of the ex-bosses has hamstrung the club from the undoubted potential they have to contend for major honours in England & Europe. This combined with the Russian tycoon appearing at training and interfering in the dressing room would drive anyone to the brink, and the young Portuguese man has been on the back foot since last June. A season in the Premiership is hard enough to get to grips with –never mind doing so with the harsh media spotlight and criticisms which are lurking behind every dropped point or defeat. The ex-Porto boss required time to stamp his authority and footballing beliefs within the Blues team –to clear out the deadwood and the players which didn’t fit, and incorporate his own cast list on the Chelsea starting IX.

Out of the previous six bosses, only three delivered major trophies whilst Claudio Ranieri, Avram Grant and Guus Hiddink all made reasonable inroads in the Champions League without providing Abramovich with the holy grail of European elite success. Power struggles at a club are one thing – but in-fighting between coaching staff, lack of respect and resent for your first-team coach and colonial groups of squad players is a situation of unmanageable proportions of which the club dictator needs to shoulder the burden of responsibility for. I am certain that within the next few years, Andre Villas-Boas will emerge again as one of the most wanted men in European football –where Chelsea go next, is not as clear-cut.

Bundesliga MD 24 Preview – 1899 Hoffenheim v 1.FC Köln

Posted: March 2, 2012 by thebhoymcclay in Bundesliga, Football
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1899 Hoffenheim v 1.FC Köln (04.03.2012 – 16:30 GMT)

The curtain will be drawn on Bundesliga Matchday 24 when under pressure Koln, travel to the Rhein-Neckar Arena for Sunday’s encounter with Hoffenheim.

Hoffenheim, under the guidance of newly appointed coach Markus Babbel, are looking for back to back wins after an impressive victory away to Wolfsburg on Matchday 23. The Sinsheim side are now undefeated in four and will see this home tie against a Koln side, low on confidence, as a great opportunity to grab another morale-boosting victory. Last week’s victory was their first since December, and you have to go back to Matchday 10 in October for their last win in Upper Rhine country. Currently sitting mid-table, Hoffenheim are still in danger of being dragged into a relegation dogfight by some sides, including this week’s visitors, but could with a couple of victories, consolidate a healthy 7th or 8th in the table.  FC Augsburg have ventured out of the relegation zone in recent weeks could leapfrog Koln if their poor form continues – The Billy Goats are heading in the wrong direction and have lost six out of the last seven Bundesliga matches shipping thirteen goals in the process.

The return of talisman Lukas Podolski to Solbakken’s team did little to inspire Koln, as Bayer Leverkusen easily dispatched their Rhineland Rivals last week amid further rumours of the German internationals’ possible departure from the RheinEnergieStadion in the summer.  This may well have been unsettling the fan’s favourite but further developments this week suggest Poldi has now agreed personal terms with long-term admirers, Arsenal, and that he will be set to join the Gunners in the summer.  General Manager Claus Horstmann has also issued under-fire manager Stale Solbakken the dreaded vote of confidence amid rumours the clubs recent poor run of form would see the end of the Norwegian managers’ leadership prior to Matchday 24.

One positive to take out of last week’s defeat for Koln was Mitchell Weiser, who became the youngest ever player to turn out for the side in the Bundesliga at the ripe age of seventeen years, three hundred & ten days – but even his youthful exuberance could not inspire his side as they lacked any real purpose and appeared very lackadaisical in defence.

1899’s German defender Matthias Jaissle is still out with an achilles tendon problem and joins Andreas Ibersberger on the sidelines for Hoffenheim. Bosnia-Herzegovina international, Sejad Salihovic has been ordered by Babbel to train with the under 23 squad and sits this out due to the disciplinary measure. Salihovic, who will miss out against Bayern Munich next week as well, was recently banned for four games by the national team due to “unsporting behaviour”.  Koln midfielders Petit & Adil Chihi are still long-term absentees along with defender Henrique Sereno, however Slawomir Pezko and Miso Brecko are available again after sitting out the Leverkusen match through suspension. Left-back Ammar Jemal started light training again on Tuesday while captain Pedro Geromel could return to the Koln midfield after nursing a calf problem. Kevin Pezzoni is also back in training and should be available for selection following a successful operation on his broken nose –Pezzosustained the injury after being attacked in a nightclub following the cities’ carnival a fortnight ago.

Die Geißböcke have the upper hand in the most recent encounters taking eight points from a possible fifteen in the last five – with the only defeat, a heavy one at that, back in the Rhineland in November 2009 when Hoffenheim ran out comfortable four nil winners.

Last 5 Matches

2009/2010      21.11.2009          1.FC Koln                   1899 Hoffenheim       0:4

2009/2010      10.04.2010         1899 Hoffenheim     1.FC Koln                     0:2

2010/2011       24.09.2010         1.FC Koln                   1899 Hoffenheim       1:1

2010/2011       19.02.2011          1899 Hoffenheim     1.FC Koln                     1:1

2011/2012        25.09.2011         1.FC Koln                    1899 Hoffenheim     2:0

Key Battles

Sven Schipplock v Kevin McKenna

The young German striker has only had 128 minutes of Bundesliga action so far this season, but repaid the faith shown in him by the new coach by coming off the bench to grab the winner at Wolfsburg.  Hoffenheim’s number nine will be hoping his impressive display has done enough to give him the nod over Croatian forward Srdan Lakic, who recently came on loan from the Wolves but has failed to find the net in his last three starts. Canadian defender Kevin McKenna will be hopeful of using his vast experience to keep the youthful 1899 front line in check.

Daniel Williams v Slawomir Pezko

German born US international, Daniel Williams will be looking to control the centre of the park and dictate the tempo for Markus Babbel’s side as he did last week, turning in a masterful performance at the Volkswagen arena. Pezko returns from suspension and his slick passing and interplay could give Koln the upper hand in the attacking third – Leverkusen were able to capitalise on their  poor ball distribution last week and bossed large parts of the game.

Bundesliga Football Prediction 2:1

Ayesha

Posted: February 22, 2012 by thebhoymcclay in Uncategorized
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Reblogged from JL:

Ayesha Siddiqui is 7 years old and she has leukaemia. She urgently needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life. Ayesha is from Glasgow and was diagnosed with leukaemia in April 2011. The family are working with Anthony Nolan to try and find a donor, Ayesha’s ethnic background will make it particularly hard to find a match.

9 out of 10 patients in northern Europe will usually find a match but only 40% of people from an ethnic minority background will be matched with a suitable donor.

Read more… 109 more words

Points Proven

Posted: February 21, 2012 by thebhoymcclay in Uncategorized
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Reblogged from Thebhoymcclay's Blog:

Celtic cannot allow media outlets, pundits and commentators to overshadow this seasons’ achievements, in what is turning out to be a league campaign which will be secured through sporting integrity, diligence and hard work.

Notwithstanding the 10 point deduction, Celtic were four points ahead of the game and powering home like a thoroughbred. Neil Lennon’s’ warriors galvanized, confident and with the momentum of a runaway train – are on an unbeaten run which has not been emulated since a decade past when Martin O’Neill’s inspiration guided his own Celtic team – captained by the current manager – to a domestic treble.

Read more… 564 more words

Bundesliga MatchDay 22 Preview – Leverkusen v Augsburg

Posted: February 16, 2012 by thebhoymcclay in Bundesliga, Football, Travel, Uncategorized
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As you may have noticed, another man by the name of Ken has started writing on here – & you would be correct in thinking he is not me, as I am me. But he hasn’t hacked on and just started rambling away at my behest. As part of an ongoing development within thebhoymcclay blog I have taken Kenny on as a wingman of sorts and his clever, witty and thought-provoking articles will be a great asset to the site. Hopefully with articles and previews such as this, we can also continue to explore new and fresher pieces which will hopefully benefit not only the blogger, but also the reader. Enjoy

This is my second matchday preview for Bundesliga Football and as I’m a reasonable lad,  I thought rather than you doing the research on one of the most exciting leagues in Europe – I would deliver the facts, figures and key players in the German top-tier directly to you.

Last week I managed to correctly predict Mainz 1-1 Hannover in Matchday 21, let’s see if we can make it two out of two!

Bayer 04 Leverkusen v FC Augsburg (18.02.2012 - 1430 GMT)

Bayer Leverkusen’s poor run of domestic form extended beyond the Bundesliga on Tuesday night, as a ruthless Barcelona side ran out three one victors at the BayArena in the Champions League – Matchday 22 however, throws up an altogether different prospect with the visit of relegation threatened Augsburg.

A battling display saw Bayer respond with a second-half equaliser through Michal Kadlec, but class eventually prevailed and the Catalan giants emerged with a two goal advantage to take to the Camp Nou in three weeks time. The visitors will be hoping these European exploits will enhance their slim hopes of taking anything back to Bavaria – but the signs are encouraging as Bayer were only victorious once in the league directly following their group stage encounters last year.

Augsburg played out a goalless draw last week at home to Nürnberg in the Swabian – Franconian derby and have shared the spoils in their last three encounters following the rückrunde, picking up vital points in their battle against the drop.  Their problem though has been finding the net – with only 19 goals in the for column in their previous 21 encounters this is in stark contrast to games involving Leverkusen, where goals are seldom in short supply.

Kadlec - a player once on Celtic's radar, swaps match shirts with Messi

 

Robin Dutt’s men routed Augsburg four one earlier in the season in their first ever Bundesliga encounter, and despite sitting sixth in the league, Leverkusen are struggling to capture any semblance of form which could see them claw back the ten points currently sitting between them and a Champions League spot. Matchday 21 saw them travel to the league leaders Borussia Dortmund and BVB found it tough against a well organised and stifling Bayer side. Die Werkself invited pressure and had Dortmund switching from their normal free-flowing style to a more direct route in order to make any headway, and in the end only a Shinji Kagawa gave the home side the 3 points.

Left-back Marcel De Jong and midfielder Tobias Werner are out for Augsburg after picking up injuries in the Nürnberg game and it appears both could be sidelined for up to ten weeks, whilst long-term absentees Nando Rafael, Moravek, & Dawda Ba are still unavailable. Creative spark Sidney Sam is still on the Leverkusen treatment table but Michael Ballack and Eren Derdiyok should make the squad. German midfielder Daniel Baier sits out a one match suspension for Augsburg for crossing the disciplinary threshold whilst Czech international Michal Kadlec returns to Bundesliga action for the home side.

Michal Kadlec vs Axel Bellinghausen

Bellinghausen will be hoping to impress on his return to the BayArena after departing at youth level in 1998. Returning from injury to replace Tobias Werner in the second half against Nuremberg last week, the German midfielder will looking for a starting berth in order to prove his fitness. If this does transpire, he could be facing Kadlec on his league return for Leverkusen following suspension, and he will be keen to showcase his own attacking prowess in the Augsburg defensive third. The tall left-back has been with Bayer now since 2008 and is now only five appearances short of his one hundredth game for the club.

Stefan Reinartz v Sascha Mölders

If Augsburg have any chance of staying in the top flight for any longer than one solitary season, Mölders has to add to his five goals so far this campaign. Having been an ever-present in his sides previous twenty-one encounters, his ratio of a goal for every nine attempted shots will have to improve. From the small & mesmeric Messi, to the tall and boisterous Molders – twenty-three year old Reinartz will enjoy a break from the Argentine superstar, but will have to endure a quite different test when up against the physicality of his compatriot.

Bundesliga Football Prediction: 3-1

Please visit http://bundesligafootball.co.uk For all this weeks previews and Special features on all things Bundesliga

You can also follow on twitter at @BLFuk 

Danke Schon

Salmonds Suggested RFC Leniency

Posted: February 16, 2012 by kenhalfpenny in Football
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Hi, it’s me. Ken again. Ken… again. That rhymes! Oooh, look at the kitte- no; time to concentrate. So! Alex “Independence or Bust” Salmond has come out and suggested that Rangers exist for the good of Celtic and the good of Scottish football. Ok, that’s a bit sketchy. More sketchy though is the way he’s trying to influence the HMRC to be lenient with Rangers:

“We’ve certainly been arguing to HMRC on one hand, and indeed to Rangers, to for goodness sake get a settlement, get a settlement and a structure over time whereby Rangers can continue because Rangers must continue for the future of Scottish football and for the fabric of the country.”

Oh dear, Eck! Alex Salmond isn’t really in a position to comment on businesses in financial trouble (hello 2000) anyway, but there’s been a lot of talk about how this would be a bad move for Alex Salmond and the SNP to make politically. The term ‘political suicide’ has been thrown around, though I really don’t think this is the case.

I want to say at this point that I am not an admirer of Alex Salmond’s SNP or their politics. I think independence would be economically suicidal for Scotland and no amount of yellow smoke and mirrors will prove otherwise. I’m a great believer in ‘the facts’ and the SNP haven’t been able to provide any financial or political analysis or representation of facts that would suggest Scotland would be better off as an independent nation. Have people got such short memories that they have forgotten what happened to Ireland when they left the Union? Eurozone bailouts, anyone?

Salmond wants independence for Scotland, and sees Rangers (an extremely pro-Union establishment) as a demographic he can win favour with by urging the HMRC to be lenient with over potentially devastating tax concerns. Come time to vote, Rangers’ extreme large fanbase will have greater inclination to support the man who tried to help them out of a tough situation. But elections are a while away and while this has potential to cost them electorate support they’ve got a long while to ‘make amends’ for that. It’s a case of balancing short-term outrage against long-term loyalty.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour are so unbelievably weak and fragile that they don’t dare contradict anything the SNP has said for fear of looking in any way like they’re not “for Scotland”. Yes, that makes them idiots. The Scottish Conservatives are falling apart. Their numbers halved from 16k party members to 8k party members in the last 6 years. The Scottish Lib Dems are entirely insignificant and as such there’s nobody in a position to challenge the SNP for the Scottish Parliament unless one or more of the above seriously up their game.

So Salmond thinks he’s bullet-proof. And all this does is gain him favour for a cause he believes in with a group who’d otherwise not think to offer it. Rangers are in big trouble, it’s a national issue – and like all national issues the First Minister had to weigh in at some point. And like everything else he does, there’s only one thing on his mind as he’s doing it.

Points Proven

Posted: February 15, 2012 by thebhoymcclay in Celtic Football Club, Football, Travel, Uncategorized
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Celtic cannot allow media outlets, pundits and commentators to overshadow this seasons’ achievements, in what is turning out to be a league campaign which will be secured through sporting integrity, diligence and hard work.

Notwithstanding the 10 point deduction, Celtic were four points ahead of the game and powering home like a thoroughbred. Neil Lennon’s’ warriors galvanized, confident and with the momentum of a runaway train – are on an unbeaten run which has not been emulated since a decade past when Martin O’Neill’s inspiration guided his own Celtic team – captained by the current manager – to a domestic treble. A swing in the Bhoys favour of seventeen points had already been overturned in a whirlwind period of fifty-three winter days and had left Ally McCoist and his Rangers team on the ropes. The knockout blow was to come, and everyone in green & white and across the city knew it – The Valentine’s day rebuff from HMRC has only brought the celebrations forward, and likewise with my experience from the closing stages of the 1999/2000 season – Rangers fans will want the curtain drawn on 2011/2012 as soon as possible. The only way Celtic can end this campaign negatively, is with a winning margin which does not reflect their on-field superiority.

Hours before the Govan Road was turned into a scene reminiscent of the Kim Jong-Ill funeral procession, Peter Lawell mirrored the viewpoint of the majority of Celtic fans when stating that the club does not, and will not need a strong Rangers side in the SPL for its own survival. Furthermore, Celtic would see this as a building block to a resurgent, and successful period in its history, where it would look to not only dominate in Scotland – but to take a significant step in European competition.

In Lennon, Celtic have a man who learned from one of the great managers of our times, and an individual steeped in hooped history. In his time as manager, Neil Lennon has, even this season, been close to the brink. At half-time at Rugby Park I was even doubting his managerial credentials, but again he battled back and from the depths of despair, Celtic resurrected their season beyond most fans own wildest dreams.

The squad built by Neil and his scouting network is young, dynamic and full of quality. Against Hearts recently, in the four nil Tynecastle victory, the average age of the starting XI was 23 – a statistic even the boss would have not envisaged at the start of his reign, feeling experienced individuals such as Jimmy Bullard and David James would be more beneficial than pure raw talent with little big game experience. Alex Ferguson was able to prove to Alan Hansen, that kids can win trophies – on top of last season’s Scottish Cup triumph, this Celtic team can gain an enormous amount of confidence and self belief with a domestic treble, the destiny of which, is very much within the teams control. A team which grows year on year, and can add silverware to its ongoing development – is conducive to building a historic and legendary legacy much, like the Lisbon Lions and Jock Stein created for themselves.

The next level of progression has to be the Champions League and the elite European competition has produced many Jekyll and Hyde results in the last eleven or so years staggered participation. Gordon Strachan, was able to guide his team twice to the knockout stages where even O’Neill could not, with a mixture of homegrown talent and experience from further afield. Bankier and Lawell now need to stand by their man, and with their full support and the stability of the team, they could be writing their own history.

Only time will tell how fulfilling any future domination can bring if the ongoing downsizing at Rangers continues – that is why it is up to the rest of Scottish Football to step up and show they can cement a challenge worthy of the leagues continuing funding and support.

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