The Football Front Awards

Hello there, I’m Callum Rivett and this week for The Football Front, I’m going to be giving my very special and virtually unknown (because I’ve just made them up) awards to various people and moments that have happened over the course of this entertaining season.

           

With the season nearly complete, the title is going to Manchester. But to which club? Red or blue? In my eyes, it has to go to City. They face a weak QPR side at home, where City have been magnificent this season, with a win guaranteeing them the title. United play Sunderland away - who are in bad form - so should win, but it will not matter unless City drop points at the Etihad on Sunday. So, on with the awards!

Surprise Package Team of the Season

Winner: Newcastle United

Runner up: Norwich City. Third: Swansea City.

            This goes to the club who have performed the best over the season., against all odds. This Newcastle side have proved the pundits wrong all year long: tipped for relegation at the start of the year, now fighting for a Champions League spot. The race for fourth - and arguably third - goes down to the final day of the season, and this is in no doubt a fantastic season for the Geordies. Norwich have to be ahead of Swansea because they have the youngest squad in the Premier League and were the first team in the top flight since 1999 to field an all-British starting line-up.

Player of the Season

 

Winner: Robin van Persie

Runner up: Joe Hart. Third: Antonio Valencia

            There is no doubt about it, van Persie has easily been the best player this season. Thirty goals in thirty-six Premier League games make him top scorer, and he should win the Golden Boot unless there is a remarkable goal-scoring feat committed by Wayne Rooney on the final day of the season. Joe Hart has been one of Man City’s unsung heroes this year, along with Vincent Kompany, keeping sixteen clean sheets. Valencia has fourteen assists and has been a vital asset for United this year in their rather unsuccessful season.

Game of the Season

 

Winner: Man United 1-6 Man City

Runner up: Man United 8-2 Arsenal. Third: Wolves 1-5 West Brom.

            The noisy neighbours got even noisier by hammering their arch-rivals 1-6 on their own turf. Old Trafford was stunned as the Citizens smashed six past the Red Devils, with goals from Aguero, Silva, and braces from Balotelli and Dzeko ensured United suffered their worst defeat at Old Trafford since February 1955.

Manager of the Season

Winner: Alan Pardew

Runner up: Paul Lambert. Third: Roberto Mancini and Brendan Rodgers

            Not surprisingly, the manager of the season order links up with the team of the season order. Newcastle’s Alan Pardew has been the mastermind behind the Magpies success this season, guiding them to a battle for fourth spot. They will definitely get the Europa League spot, so it should be interesting and exciting to see them in Europe next year. Lambert once again beat Rodgers to second, because he had less money, and Norwich have been underrated this year. Norwich have been the best promoted team this year, beating Swansea and QPR home and away.

Manager of the Season

Winner: Alan Pardew

Runner up: Paul Lambert. Third: Roberto Mancini and Brendan Rodgers

            Not surprisingly, the manager of the season order links up with the team of the season order. Newcastle’s Alan Pardew has been the mastermind behind the Magpies success this season, guiding them to a battle for fourth spot. They will definitely get the Europa League spot, so it should be interesting and exciting to see them in Europe next year. Lambert once again beat Rodgers to second, because he had less money, and Norwich have been underrated this year. Norwich have been the best promoted team this year, beating Swansea and QPR home and away.

Signing of the Season

 

Winner: Sergio Aguero

Runner up: Demba Ba. Third: Mikel Arteta

            Sergio Aguero’s twenty-two goals in thirty appearances for Man City this year have certainly helped City win the title. He seems a bargain at £35m compared to some other signings. To think Liverpool could have signed this star for just £35m more than Andy Carroll is astonishing, they really missed a trick there. Demba Ba has had a fantastic season for Newcastle, helping them to a top five finish. Arteta has been outstanding for Arsenal this season, and their recent drop in form can be coincided with the loss of Arteta through injury, so the sooner him and Wilshere return, the better for Arsenal fans.

Impact Signing of the Season

Winner: Papiss Demba Cissé

Runner up: Nikica Jelavic. Third: Stephen Pienaar

            Papiss Cissé has taken the league by storm since signing from German outfit SC Freiburg in January for a fee of around £10m. He has scored thirteen goals in thirteen appearances so far for Newcastle, becoming an instant fan favourite at the Sports Direct Arena. But the two Everton signings make it into the top three, Nikica Jelavic has also made an instant impact to Everton, scoring eight goals in twelve games, helping them finish above Merseyside rivals Liverpool. Third was a tight call between Pavel Pogrebnyak and Stephen Pienaar, but it has to go to the South African. His return to Everton, albeit only on loan, has sparked Everton’s season into life. The performance he put in against Chelsea was unbelievable, so for that, he has to get third.

Follow Callum on twitter: @CJRivett12. You can find more of Callum's work here.

The Europa League is it really the Mickey Mouse Cup?

On his debut for The Football Front, Tom Moseley explains why the Europa League deserves more respect than it currently gets.

For a while now, people have been regarding the Europa League as ‘The Mickey Mouse Cup’ or ‘A Mickey Mouse Cup’ saying they don’t really care about it and it doesn’t mean anything. However, does it really deserve this title? Especially this year, there seems to have been a general increase in the amount of people watching and enjoying the Europa League, for a few different reasons.

Firstly, I find the Europa League much more entertaining than the Champions League, because I think that the Europa League is played at a higher pace than the Champions League and fewer teams settle for draws, leading to end-to-end and potentially high scoring games. You can see this if you compare the Champions League and Europa League Quarter Final first legs and seeing the difference in the amount of goals. In the Europa League there were 15 goals in the four games, which is an average of 3.75 goals a game, which is quite high to be honest, whereas the Champions League is different. In the Champions League there were 6 goals, which is an average of 1.5 goals a game, so on average, you get 2 more goals a game in the Europa League, which backs up the fact the Europa League is better for entertainment than the Champions League.

I think the next main reason why the Europa League is starting to appeal to a lot more people and is being dismissed as a ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ by more people is because it’s ‘refreshing’ because in the Champions League, you see those same sides on TV every week. I mean I always say that if you have SkySports you have a Real Madrid and Barcelona season ticket, so when the Europa League is on, it’s a welcome chance to watch some different teams. You can see different managers, players and styles, instead of the same thing every week. This could appeal to people even more if they want to learn more

about the game, because they are finding out about new players and managers they never knew before, meaning they’re learning more and more out about different aspects of football, which they might not necessarily find out when they watch the same kinds of teams. An example of this is mainly Athletic Bilbao. I have learnt a lot about them from the few Europa League games of theirs I have watched. I knew most of their players and I knew Biesla was their manager and that he managed Chile in the World Cup and is nicknamed ‘El Loco’ but I didn’t know exactly how they played, which is probably the main reason why I enjoyed their game at Old Trafford, because they play an exciting brand of football. They press high and play at a high tempo with lots of men attacking and lots of good movement/runs in and around the box, which is good football for entertainment and if you’re watching as a neutral.

For me, this is the biggest argument for why the Europa League is getting better and not necessarily better than the Champions League, because technically, the Champions League teams are better, but more entertaining and could possibly become a ‘Peoples Cup’ which may not always be the best in quality, but the games are always entertaining, open and played at a fast tempo.

I also think the ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ isn’t a right title for the cup as well, because if you go by popular opinion that the two Manchester Clubs are the best in England and the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the World, then they wouldn’t have been knocked out so early in the tournament, for the point they entered in. If it really was as bad as it is made out, then I’m pretty sure the two Manchester clubs would have walked it and there would have been a Manchester Derby final, which a couple of people I know said there would be.

However, again this could be due to lack of knowledge of the game as well, as they don’t know a lot about the teams they’ll be up against, so they assume that the Manchester Clubs will walk it, because nine times out of ten, if you know next to nothing about a team in the Europa League, but know a lot about a decent Champions League team, you’re going to back the Champions League team, aren’t you? I mean, a couple of people I was talking to didn’t really know who Bilbao were.

Another way to look at it is to think, if your team won the Europa League, would you play it down and say ‘well, it’s only a Mickey Mouse Cup’. My guess is no, you wouldn’t. I’m pretty sure when Fulham got to the final, they wanted to win it and wouldn’t be calling it a ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ if they did, or take the League Cup for example as well, that’s classed as a ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ by a lot of people, but every Liverpool fan I’ve talked to hasn’t called it the ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ they’ve defended their club by saying ‘Yeah, but we won the League Cup’. So everyone that calls the Europa League a ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ answer this question, if you’re team, whether it be Liverpool, Wolves or Wycombe, won the Europa League, would you say it’s only a ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ or would you celebrate? Most supporters would pick the second. So this is something people should consider when writing cups off as ‘Mickey Mouse Cups’.

Overall, what I’m trying to say, is the Europa League is a good competition, it’s entertaining and although there isn’t as much quality on show as the Champions League, the entertainment factor makes up for it, which is what football is all about, entertainment, football is a form of entertainment. So, I don’t think it is a ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ and I hope more people start to see this and it grows as a tournament, which it looks like it could.

This article was written by Tom Moseley, you can follow him on Twitter: @PlayedOfThePark .Check out his website too: http://playedoffthepark.blogspot.co.uk/

The Three factors ensuring Manchester United will fight for the title

In his debut article for The Football Front, Jordon Florit considers why Man United’s result at Chelsea proves the Red Devils will fight Man City to the death for the Premier League title.

You wouldn’t have put money on it: or maybe, if you’re my cousin, you would have placed a £2.00 bet, with odds of 50/1, on a 3-3 draw. The final score was hardly ideal for either side: however, Manchester United haven’t cracked Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the past ten years and when Chelsea went three goals to the good with forty minutes left to play, to take a solitary point seemed unthinkable. Yet it still happened.

It was the first time in Chelsea’s Premier League history that they’d let a three goal lead slip, exactly a year to the day after Arsenal had let a four goal lead slip to this season’s surprise package Newcastle United. Yet, in an unexpected sort of way, the result wasn’t as surprising as one may’ve though. This season, Premier League fixtures between last season’s top four have reaped an average of 5.25 goals per game.

There are three factors which are at play to ensure that Manchester United will push Manchester City all the way in the fight for the title.

1.) Persistence and Determination

Ultimately, what Rio Ferdinand described as a “Man Utd never say die attitude”, is what was needed to compete in a hotly contested duel in which The Red Devils eventually came out as the dominant side in a game which had no winner.

Dominating possession and converting their chances was the gilded difference between a Manchester United side that looked dead as the third goal was headed in by David Luiz, and a Chelsea side that, on paper, looked weak as they were missing Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole for the first time in 4 years.

For Sir Alex Ferguson, it was a game that “epitomises what English football’s about,” and it went psychologically proved that, despite failing to win, Manchester United will fight City all the way for the Premier League title.

At three goals down, with debatably two own goals scored – although the second was accredited to David Luiz. And with Chelsea’s fans providing another unwanted sub-story to the game, with a chorus of boos akin to the treatment Patrice Evra received at Anfield, United’s season was near the potential point of no return.

If, like the form book would’ve led one to believe, and Chelsea had gone on to win the game, it would’ve been Manchester United’s third loss to a top seven side, in all competitions, in 2012 alone. Furthermore, with Manchester City convincingly beating Fulham 3-0 yesterday, the gap between the top two would’ve remained at three points.

Some even were expecting Chelsea to repeat Man City’s 6-1 humiliation of Man United.

2.) David de Gea

“When you make a mistake at United, it is highlighted and can be exaggerated a little bit.” Those are the words of Sir Alex Ferguson on the criticism received by his Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea prior to the game and at three down. The hate brigade was well and truly in full swing. However, in palming shots away and punching balls out of the box, despite the scoreline, the Spanish ‘keeper was proving his critics wrong.

For many, and wrongly so, De Gea is considered to be the chink in United’s armour and, in the extremist’s view, including Piers Morgan, who believe David De Gea is the worst goalkeeper in the Premier League. But the statistics would beg to differ and in the aftermath of the game, the Spaniard’s saves-to-shots ratio was 77%. Which is the fourth best in the league, whereas Petr Cech’s stood at 65%, pitting him as the worst in the league. Whilst I don’t believe either are anywhere near the worst in the league, De Gea outshone Petr Cech with his emphatic save to stop a tremendous effort from fellow countryman Juan Mata.3.) The blend of experience and youth

Although the game was tainted by the continuous drone of boos for Rio Ferdinand, something Andre Villas-Boas seemed to palm off as a “normal situation in the Premier League,” which would confirm Ollie Holt’s views of a “resurgence of racist attitudes in the English game,” it did prove there is still life in one old dog in particular.

Thirty-eight year old Ryan Giggs was at the heart of everything creative for Manchester United, producing six goal-scoring opportunities for the visiting side. In fact, he created more chances than any other player on the pitch with Mata and Malouda coming closest with four each. Paul Scholes, 37, came on with the deficit still at two and with the two most experienced players on the pitch making up half of United’s midfield four; a comeback was mounted.

The value of experience, which was absent in the Chelsea side with the aforementioned four all missing. But for Man United the experience of Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes their experience continued to shine through. Carrick, 30, pulled the strings in midfield, coming in as United’s top passer with 76 passes, 23 more than Chelsea’s highest passer Raul Meireles, and Rio Ferdinand, 33, was the most accurate distributor on the pitch with an 89% pass completion rate.

With experience bossing the midfield, ably assisted by the unfazed Rio Ferdinand, it was left to the youth upfront to convert Manchester United’s chances. With a 69% success rate of shots to shots on target and a 33% goal ratio from shots on target, both better than Chelsea’s return, Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez ensured Manchester United could fight back from a steep deficit to earn a point. The former earned the penalty that saw Rooney score and the lattermost completed the comeback, having seen Rooney score the second. It was typical of Hernandez to score the equaliser. 10 of his 21 Premier League goals have come in the last ten minutes and 11 of them coming from within the six-yard box.


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Chelsea have now drawn their last three games, leaving them sitting in 4th. Had Chelsea won all their last three games, they’d currently be level with Tottenham.

A Premier League title now looks out of the question for Andre Villas-Boas’s Chelsea.
However, one positive from a game which will definitely go down as two points lost, was David Luiz. Today’s performance saw him win 100% of his aerial battles and 87.5% of his ground battles, whilst winning every challenge he made. Although he was debatably at fault for Manchester United’s equaliser, he’s becoming more disciplined as the season progresses and AVB can only hope for a stronger defensive display from next season’s Chelsea than the one he has witnessed this season. Cahill will go some way to ensuring that.

This article was written by Jordan Florit. For more of Jordan’s work, take a look at his website: www.maycauseoffence.com/. Jordan is also on Twitter: @JordanFlorit

2011 Premier League Review

It’s has definitely been an eventful year. Manchester United became the most successful domestic team in England. Manchester City won their first trophy for the first time in 35 years. Kenny Dalglish made a dramatic return to his beloved Liverpool. Fernando Torres became the most expensive Premier League player. And Andy Carroll became the most expensive English footballer. While Cesc Fabregas finally left Arsenal!

This article is a small review of the year, while at the end we will have a 2011 Premier League team of the year.

Onto the review!

Club of the year

This is a tough one, many teams have impressed this year. But for me it has to be Manchester City. Firstly, they have finally won a trophy. Secondly, the team broke into the Champions League elite and by the end of the year, the team look like favourites to win the league.

What has also impressed me about Manchester City is the way they pass the ball. Especially in the 2011/12 season, the team’s passing has been sensational. The team can outpass most teams in Europe. Their ball retention is almost Barcelona eqsue. Indeed, they are no where near Barcelona’s level yet. But when this City side pass the ball it’s an absolute joy to watch.

Runner up: Man United, third place: Stoke City.

Manager of the year

I think this is straight forward. It’s Sir Alex Ferguson. The Scotsman has now been in charge of Man United for 25 years, which is nothing short of sensational in the modern game. Furthermore, Fergie has showed this year he still one of the best around. He has made Man United the most successful domestic side in England. Ferguson maybe getting on in terms of age, but he is still a huge threat to his contemporaries. His hunger, desire and determination to win seems to grow with every year.

Runner up: Roberto Mancini (Man City), third place Tony Pulis (Stoke)

Player of the year

For me this is easy. It has got to be Robin Van Persie. The guy has scored 34 goals in the year 2011. This is sensational. His phenomenal form has kept Arsenal competitive. Not only this, he has saved Arsenal so many times in the past year. Without RVP one wonders where Arsenal would actually be. The year 2011 has shown if Van Persie can keep fit, he truly is a World Class striker.

What makes Van Persie a world class striker is the variation in his goals. Some are fantastic free kicks, bullet headers, cracking half volleys and there are some which are lovely placed finishes. Arsenal are very fortunate to have such a wonderful striker at the club.

Runner up: David Silva (Man City) Third place (Luis Suarez)

Result of the year

This again is very easy. It’s Man United’s 6-1 humiliation at home to Man City. For me this result showed not only to Man United, but the world that Man City are no longer the ‘noisy neighbours’ they are a real threat not only to English teams but to major European teams. What made this result more compounding was Man United’s home form prior to this game was exceptional. They had no dropped a single point at home for over a year. Man City had no real right to win there, but to City’s credit, they punished Man United and potentially left a scaring mark on United.

Runner up: Man United 8-2 Arsenal. Third place Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal

Goal of the year

Wayne Rooney v Man City

This goal was magical. No matter what your views on Wayne Rooney are you cant knock this goal. Firstly, his technique was incredible. Rooney had his body in the perfect posture and got perfect contact on the ball too. Secondly, the goal was against Man United’s arch rivals. At the time it was viewed as the goal which put Man City in their place. It was viewed as the goal which was supposed to suggest Man United were far better than Man City technically, individually and collectively. This goal will be remembered for years to come.

Second place: Robin Van Persie v Everton

Surprise player

Mario Balotelli

Super Mario has surprised many. Most have viewed him as a volatile young Italian who has talent but his stupidity hinders him from being truly successful. However, this year there has been a slight change with Balotelli. Yes he is still crazy and idiotic at times. But his form has improved dramatically. In the 2011/12 season he has scored 11 goals already. Balotelli has shown goal scoring consistency this year. He has been going through patches of form where he would score consecutively in various games. Not only this, Balotelli has been scoring in the big and smaller games too.

Super Mario has also found time to also make people laugh too. His goal celebrations, firework antics and apparently going round as santa and giving people money has had people talking about him for a good few months!

But, the young Italian has also found time to also show his volatile, inconsistent side. Against Liverpool in November, he came on a sub and left the field by getting a red card.

Balotelli has made great progress, but there is a lot more work to do before he is seen as World Class.

Worst Transfer of 2011

Fernando Torres wins this easily. The £50million man simply has not found his feet since joining Chelsea. In the past 12 months at Chelsea, Torres has been managed by two world class managers. But both have struggled to find a formula to get the best out of Torres.

The year 2011 has been a really tough year for Fernando Torres. So far in his Chelsea career, the most expensive Premier League player has managed just 6 goals. While Torres’ form has declined to levels which no one would have expected. His miss v Man United is probably the best evidence of this. The Spaniard looks deprived of confidence sharpness and ideas. It’s regrettable, because on his day he is an exceptional player. And can match any striker in the world.

Indeed, there is a long way to get yet in Torres Chelsea career. 2012 maybe the year when Torres finally finds his feet at Chelsea. But so far, Torres doesn’t look like a £50million player at all.

Runner up: Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool £35mill) Third place: Charles N’Zogbia (Wigan to Aston Villa £11mill)

Disappointment of the year

The passing of Gary Speed was the darkest news in the football world in the year 2011 in the Premier League. It left the whole of the footballing world in utter shock. It just didn’t make sense to anyone. Speed was a fine professional, a decent manager who was doing a wonderful job with a young exciting Welsh side. However, it was refreshing that the whole of the Premier League joined united to support his family. The response to his passing was incredible. It really proves the footballing world no matter what club you align yourself towards can come together and unite to help each other.

Team of the year

So here is my team of the year. It may annoy some and it may please others!

Channel Five's Jim Rosenthal & Stan Collymore sing "Thursday nights, Channel 5!"

This is genius. So Man United and Man City have been demoted to the Europa League after their poor showing in the Champions League this season. Channel 5 presenter and pundit Rosenthal and Collymore ironically sing 'Thursday Night's Channel Five' to irritate and gloat at the United and City supporters!

Premier League Predictions – Week 12

Another batch of Premier League fixtures are amongst us, this weekend sees Man United host Newcastle United, which should be a fantastic encounter. While Liverpool host the league leaders Man City on Sunday.

This week, our predictors are Gagan of Anfield Index and EPL Index. The other predictor this week is, Jonny Mullins of Lanky Guy Blog.

So onto the predictions,

Fixture	Ibby Akkas prediction		Gagan prediction		Jonny Mullins prediction		Actual Score
Stoke v Blackburn	2-1		2-1		2-2		3-1
Bolton v Everton	3-2		1-1		1-2		0-2
Chelsea v Wolves	2-0		3-2		2-0		3-0
Man United v Newcastle	1-0		2-0		3-1		1-1
Norwich v QPR	2-2		2-1		2-1		2-1
Sunderland v Wigan	3-1		1-1		2-1		1-2
West Brom v Tottenham	1-2		1-2		0-3		1-3
Arsenal v Fulham	4-1		3-1		4-0		1-1
Swansea v Aston Villa	1-1		1-0		2-0		0-0
Liverpool v Man City	3-2		2-2		0-2		1-1
Total Correct Scores	correct results - 4	perfect results - 0	correct results - 4	perfect results -1	correct results - 3	perfect scores - 1

The Results

Gagan - 7 points

Jonny Mullins - 6 points

Ibby Akkas - 4 points

This week's winner is Gagan who edges past Jonny Mullins by 1 point. It was a very close encounter this week, will all the predictors besides Ibby, getting one perfect score. But a decent effort for both Gagan and Jonny!
Make sure you take a look at Gagan’s fantastic Anfield Index and EPL Index, both websites are fantastic and have articles filled with brilliant statistics. Both EPL Index and Anfield Index can be found on Twitter: @EPLIndex + @AnfieldIndex.

Jonny Mullins blog is most definitely worth the time. His blog: Lanky Guy Blog specialises on tactical analysis of recent matches across the globe. Jonny can also be followed on Twitter: @Lankyguyblog.

Take a look at this season’s Prediction Challenge League Table.

Find out here how last week’s predictors did!

For more information on The Predictions Challenge check out this page.

Contracts in Football - Are they worth the paper they are written on?

Leanne Duckett explains to The Football Front the true value of contracts and whether they have real value.

The thing in football that baffles me most is ..... CONTRACTS!! Do they actually mean anything?

As an HR Advisor this may be a little surprising but it seems Football as a business is totally exempt from the normal everyday HR structure that other businesses run to.

Contract of Employment: "Oral or written, express or implied, agreement specifying terms and conditions under which a person consents to perform certain duties as directed and controlled by en employer in return for an agreed upon wage or salary. Whether stated or not, both the employee and the employer owe the duty of mutual confidence and trust, and to make only lawful and reasonable demands on each other. Every employee is under the obligation to carry out assigned duties, or the employers instructions to the best of their abilities. The employer is under the obligation to protect the employee from harm or injury." (www.businessdictionary.com, 2011)

By its very definition a contract is there to in-still "mutual confidence and trust" it seems ‘confidence’ and ‘trust’ are the missing elements in the Mancini -Tevez affair.


So, the key question is has Tevez breached his contract?

Well, he allegedly refused a request from his manager to play against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Manchester City then suspended him for a maximum of two weeks, on full pay whilst they conducted an investigation into the incident. Tevez was then fined 4 weeks wages, close to a £1 million pounds, and was training with the youth team.

Some of the options available to City are, to retain Tevez's registration until 2014, leaving him unable to play any competitive football, except for Argentina, until the registration expires. Or, they can sell him, his former club, Corinthians are said to have expressed interest in taking him back for around £16-£18 million, almost a third of the £47 million City paid for him.

Man City Chairman, Sheikh Mansour however has stated no cut price deals will be made.

Indeed, there is a FIFA regulation where a player can terminate his contract if he feels he has sporting just cause:

"An established professional who has, in the course of the season, appeared in fewer than ten per cent of the official matches in which his club has been involved may terminate his contract prematurely on the ground of sporting just cause. Due consideration shall be given to the player’s circumstances in the appraisal of such cases. The existence of a sporting just cause shall be established on a case-by-case basis. In such a case, sporting sanctions shall not be imposed, though compensation may be payable. A professional may only terminate his contract on this basis in the 15 days following the last official match of the season of the club with which he is registered." (www.fifa.com)

This is not new territory that Tevez finds himself in. At the end of his time with Corinthians he refused to play, thus to push forward his transfer to West Ham United.

Carlos Tevez is well known for his sulking and petulance which is a massive shame, considering how talented he is.

Tevez did initially receiving the backing from the PFA in his claim against Mancini for defamation of character. But since he’s gone AWOL, presumably back to Argentina, this sour affair shows no signs of being settled this year.

Champions League club representatives have urged FIFA to take a tough stance against Carlos Tevez if his self-imposed exile from Manchester City leads to the end of his contract.

One club executive said: ‘If Tevez does get away with having his contract cancelled and then gets himself a lucrative deal elsewhere, what’s to stop others doing the same thing? We are all watching this situation very closely.’

As are we all!

This article was written by Leanne Duckett, you follow her on Twitter: @halftimejaffas .You can find her work on her blog here too -> http://halftimejaffacakes.blogspot.com/

Five Observations from Week 10 in the Premier League

1. Manchester City prove they get can away wins against tough mid-table teams- This was a real test for Manchester City. It was a test which City just about passed. QPR threw a load of punches at Man City. The first critical punch came when QPR took the lead. It was the first time in the league an opposition has taken the lead against Manchester City. Indeed, Manchester City stood up and got the equaliser through Edin Dzeko, who has now scored 10 Premier League goals, 7 of those coming away from home. City then grabbed the initiative again by taking the lead, but against determined opposition, who have a very solid attacking unit and with their passionate fans behind them, QPR reacted and managed to bring the game level to 2-2. But again, this didn’t effect severely effect Man City. Within a few minutes City took the lead again – which ended up being the crucial winning goal. This result proves City have strong belief and togetherness to come out of tough tests with all the three points. A number of teams would have fallen apart and lost their way after being pegged back away from home. It also proves, even if City don’t play at their very best, the team have enough quality and cohesion to get the win away from home.
2. Liverpool are not good enough for a top four finish – Liverpool let themselves down again. For the third home game in a row, they have drawn. For the second time in a row, they have drawn at home games against two newly promoted sides. Utterly woeful. Liverpool’s attack has improved from last season, but The Reds have lacked a clinical cutting edge this season. Indeed, Liverpool have created the chances but the finishing simply hasn’t been there. That was the case against Swansea. It’s clear if a team have aspirations to be in the top four they must win their encounters at home against the teams below them in the league. With every game, Liverpool’s finishing has been a growing concern. It’s vital Dalglish and his players rectify this because as it stands, Liverpool feel and look extremely brittle at Anfield.
3. Chelsea finally get their first clean sheet since August but one must not get carried away with this stat – Chelsea grabbed their first win in three with an away win at Blackburn. Perhaps this result was expected. After all, prior to this game, Blackburn had gone 5 games without a win. But Chelsea, got the three points thanks to yet another Frank Lampard goal, and they said his best days were over? Look at him now! But more crucially, Chelsea got themselves a clean sheet. Their first clean sheet since the opening day draw at Stoke. But Chelsea know they can’t get carried away. They were playing one of the Premier League’s out of form sides, they were playing a team who had only managed a woeful 1 win in 5 games at home this season. Furthermore, Blackburn haven’t kept a clean sheet this season, so it was inevitable Chelsea would come out on top. But this is a morale boosting win, as bigger challenges lay ahead for Chelsea.
4. Wolves get three points in their biggest game of the season..so far, while Wigan lose yet again- Wolves finally end their run of 8 games without a win. It was a win which was utterly deserved. Wolves didn’t play Wigan off the park, but they did play a far better game than Wigan. Wolves defended better, used the ball more wisely and attacked in a more clinical fashion. This was a vital game for both Wigan and Wolves. Prior to this game, both teams had lost more than 6 games in a row. Both teams saw this as a 6 pointer fixture for themselves. But Wolves showed their strength and determination to end this run. While Wigan, yet again, showed no substance. The team were not clinical and arguably their goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi kept Wigan within reach of Wolves. But Wigan looked out of sorts. The team seem struggle to score and struggled to defend. It will certainly be a long season for Wigan. While for Wolves, what a difference a win makes. Wolves go into the international break in 13^th position, a point behind Stoke and QPR.
5. Bolton finally win at home – Prior to this game, Bolton were the only team in the Premier League who have failed to pick up a single point at home. But that changed this weekend. Bolton hammered Stoke. Perhaps it was a reverse of the hammering Stoke gave to Bolton in the FA Cup Semi-Final last season. Bolton fully deserved the points against Stoke. Bolton seemed more fresher and more hungry for the win. The Wanderers imposed themselves on Stoke and put Pulis’ men under a great deal of pressure throughout the game. Kevin Davies, a man whose form has been under scruinity this season played a crucial part in Bolton’s win. He was an imposing figure, who caused Stoke a handful of problems with his physicality and great holding up of the ball. However, for Stoke, the team looked tired and its evident the effects of playing in the Europa League are having an effect on the team’s domestic performances. Pulis must find a formula to get his side to perform in the games after tough Europa League encounters.

Five Statistics from this Weekend

1. Gabriel Agbonlahor has scored against 26 of the 30 different teams he has faced in the Premier League.
2. 48% of Arsenal’s goals have come from Robin Van Persie this season.
3. Liverpool have drawn the most games at home this season (4 draws)
4. Brad Friedel made his 276 consecutive start in the PL versus Fulham. Last time he missed a match was May 2004.
5. QPR have only won 1 home game in 6 attempts this season.

Man City rule the city of Manchester, but do they rule the Premier League?

In his debut article for The Football Front, Jake Harrison explains how Manchester City are now the favourites to win the Premier League title.

It is the shift of power that was always going to happen. Manchester United and Chelsea continued to ignore the flaws in their respective sides. Manchester City were always going to power through with their deep pockets and reach the very top.

The Manchester derby scoreline was surprising but the result was not a shock. A cynic would suggest that City should be at the top given how much money they have spent;. A general view of opposition fans is that City are buying there way to the Premier League title.

But that doesn’t take away the fact that Roberto Mancini has the strongest squad in the top tier. A sad reflection on the state of world football that in football, the team with the most money – as long as they are run and managed well – will win. It is barely a relevant criticism to say City are buying the League and therefore devaluing the competition. This has been the case with various teams since 1992, and City are utilising this method to great effect – both on and off the pitch.

Last season the main disparagement with Mancini’s side was that they were too defensive, that they refused to release the handbrake. This season, City have kept the defensive resoluteness but added full-throttle attack.

Sergio Aguero (10 goals this season), Edin Dzeko (9) and Mario Balotelli (6) are strikers who would fit into any of the top sides in Europe on their day. Samir Nasri and Adam Johnson are players deserving of more recognition than a spot on the bench. Indeed, Man City have the best player in the Premier League: David Silva. An average of 3.6 goals per game this season doesn’t even tell half of the story; when Manchester City attack, they look like they’re going to score every single time.

An all-guns-blazing attacking force would usually result in weaknesses at the back. But this is a Mancini side. When City defend, they defend as a unit – and this is a unit that has been built over a short period of time, despite the fact that all defensive components look comfortable with one-another as they if they have been playing together for years.

Joe Hart must now be seen as one of the top goalkeepers in the world. The way in which he can command his area, distribute early and cleanly – not to mention his excellent shot-stopping – which is majestic at times.

In Micah Richards and Gael Clichy Man City have wonderful attacking full-backs who can defend as competently as well. While in the middle the supreme Vincent Kompany keeps them all in line, while the ever-improving yet always-mocked Joleon Lescott looks a lot more comfortable than he has done in recent years.

It is easy to laugh at Gareth Barry. But the defensive midfielder’s ability to play an unspectacular role is sometimes confused with ineffectiveness; the England man is vital to City’s efforts.

Yaya Toure was restricted to a more subdued role on Sunday to sure up the defence further, while James Milner appears to have converted himself into a first-class central midfielder. Both must be seen as two of the most in-form midfielders in the world right now.

Sunday’s derby was hardly a thrashing in the traditional sense, though. 3-1 would have been a fair reflection on the game but, nevertheless, a fantastic last few minutes from City and an appalling showing from United meant that three more goals were scored.

There is not a gulf between the two Manchester clubs. But there is sizeable gap between the two.

United need a creator in the middle; Tom Cleverley could be the man to fill this role but it is simply not possible to rely on such a young and inexperienced player, nor is it logical to depend upon the inconsistent Wayne Rooney to ignite a spark into any match. Patrice Evra has endured some torrid form for quite a while now, while Rio Ferdinand seems to edge closer towards the MLS with every passing minute. No empire is permanent. It seems as if the domination of Manchester United is coming to an end, either through fault of their own accord or the sheer relentlessness of their closest rivals.

City’s other main challenger has major problems too. Chelsea’s defence is weak, with John Terry and Ashley Cole struggling more as age catches up with them, while David Luiz still shows signs of rawness. Strikers Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba still aren’t the deadly forwards that they once used to be.

Whatever one’s views on the way in which City have reached their current position, their effectiveness and, at times, glorious football is undeniably brilliant. They score team goals that would fit into any end-of-season highlight packages but they also have the individual brilliance that every top team needs.

Manchester City are Premier League title favourites. At this early stage, that may seem a little hasty, especially when City had a similarly impressive start to the season last term. But this season looks to be different, even if it is just on paper. This season, City are not just a team of incredibly talented individuals – they are a ferocious, stunning team.

Manchester City aspire to end the repetitive cycle that has seen only three teams crowned Premier League champions since 1995.

This article was written by Jake Harrison, you can follow Jake on his Twitter: @Jake_Harrison92 .You can also find his blog here: jakecharrison.blogspot.com/

Five Observations from Week 8 in the Premier League

1. Manchester City send a powerful message that will resound across Europe – Prior to the Manchester Derby, Man United were viewed as invincible at home. And so they should have been. United had won their previous 24/25 Premier League home matches, a feat which in itself was a key factor as to why United won the league last season. Ahead of the match Mancini said he would be content if he left Old Trafford with a draw. But boy, didn’t he leave with so much more. Manchester City compounded Man United to their worst defeat since 1955. Mancini’s city were sensational. David Silva toyed with Man United’s defence throughout the game. Silva’s movement, passing and creativity was incontainable for Manchester United. City severely frightened Man United. Actually no, Manchester City humiliated Man United. But the result is a massive indicator of how Man City need to be taken seriously. Firstly, the fact Manchester City hammered Man United at Old Trafford demonstrates the sheer monstrosity of this expensively assembled City side. It proves not only does Manchester City have title credentials, they have the belief, quality and hunger to run away the Premier League. Secondly, in England, the press seem adamant to brand Roberto Mancini’s style as ‘calculated, disciplined and defensive.’ But these statements were confounded by this weekend’s result. Manchester City headed to the Champion’s invincible ground. A ground in which United had not lost a league game in over two years. But Manchester City came, saw and conquered. Not only this, City proved Mancini is willing to make his side play adventurous football in order to get crucial wins at away grounds, something he was criticised for continuously since becoming Man City manager. Finally, Man United now know the ‘noisy neighbours’ are no longer noisy. Manchester City are now roaring with hunger, belief and pride.
2. Liverpool must to learn to take their chances or fourth place will be beyond them – Liverpool have now drawn 3/5 of their home Premier League matches this season. Draws against Sunderland, Man United and Norwich have been agonising for Liverpool fans. All three games could have easily been won. Had Liverpool been more clinical. The simple matter is, Liverpool have been creating the chances. But the team, especially the strikers have failed to finish the chances. This wastefulness has cost them in the short term, as its meant Liverpool have dropped points against teams which they should have easily got three points off. As a result Liverpool find themselves 4 points away from 4^th placed Newcastle. But in the long term, Liverpool’s wastefulness upfront could have detrimental effects on their long term goals. The fact Newcastle and Tottenham have been solid and productive at home it could mean that Liverpool could fall away rather dramatically from 4^th place because of their rather avoidable dropped points.
3. Swansea impresses, but show they lack Premier League experience – Swansea played Wolves off the park for 83 minutes. Swansea kept the ball better, they created the better chances and looked far more accomplished against a rather defensively clumsy Wolves side. Swansea quite rightfully went into half time 2 goals ahead. It was utterly deserved. They dominated proceedings. But as the second half progressed, Wolves pressed higher up and looked desperate to somehow claw their way back into the game. Throughout the game, Swansea dealt with Wolves set pieces in a rather unconvincing manner. The team struggled to get the ball away and lost many key tackles and headers during set pieces. It came as no surprise that Wolves goal came from a set piece – be it a scrappy one. But the Wolves goal seemed to give the Wanderers all the confidence and momentum. Two minutes later, Jamie O’Hara made it 2-2. But this result was completely undeserved for Wolves. Who were second best for most of the game. The draw showed Swansea still lack a certain degree of Premier League experience. At the back, Swansea were not very organised in defending set pieces. While after the first Wolves goal, Swansea lost their focus and allowed Wolves to grow in confidence. This weekend’s result will provide harsh evidence to the Swansea players that keeping their concentration and not getting complacent for 90+ minutes is an imperative. As a team can be woeful as Wolves were and can still manage to come away with a draw by simply hanging in there and throwing knock out punches when the opportunity arises for them.
4. Bolton become softer and softer at home – Last season, Bolton were pretty hard to beat at home. The Wanderers only lost four home games last season. While this season, a different picture is painted. In five Premier League home games, Bolton have lost every single one, thus failing to even pick up a point at home. That is disastrous form. This form is unacceptable in any league in the world. The team have scored 4 at home this season, while conceding a monumental 17 goals at home. But this weekend’s game against Sunderland was supposed to be the game which Bolton bag their first home win of the season. Sunderland was there for the taking. Like themselves, Sunderland’s form has been relatively inconsistent. Prior to this weekend, Sunderland had only won once in 8 games – a hardly impressive feat. But Bolton have looked far too soft this season. In defence Bolton look unoriginally weak, while upfront, Bolton look toothless. Perhaps the difference between the Bolton and Sunderland was that Sunderland were more clinical. Bolton have a lot of improving to do. The team seem to have no real strengths at the moment.
5. Chelsea’s indiscipline could cost them their title challenge – So far this season, Chelsea have looked rather impressive. Their style of play, along with their attacking nature has made Andre Villas –Boas team very entertaining to watch. However, this weekend, they were the victims of their own downfall. Prior to the match, QPR provided Chelsea with a key chance to go ahead of Man United in the league. Furthermore, QPR’s home form this season has been far from impressive. The Rangers had not won a single home game and had only scored two goals at home prior to the game. But Chelsea’s two red cards which both were frustratingly avoidable and changed the game. Chelsea unsurprisingly with 9 men looked rather shaky at the back, but Chelsea reacted fantastically. Chelsea dominating proceedings with just 9 men. The Blues attacked, attacked and attacked. Perhaps Chelsea were unlucky not to get at least a draw. Chelsea created a handful of chances. However, Chelsea’s finishing was a tad lacklustre. Had they been more clinical, Chelsea could have possibly got all three points let alone a single point. But in 9 Premier League games, Chelsea have gained three red cards. 2/3 of the red cards were strikers (Torres and Drogba) both challenges were reckless and unneeded. AVB must further discipline his players, or Chelsea could be victims of their own downfall.

Five Statistics from this weekend

1.) Man United have allowed the opposition more shots per game than any other Premier League side

2.) 80% of the goals Liverpool have conceded have come in the second half

3.) Robin Van Persie has scored 25 Premier League goals in 2011 – no other player has scored more than that in the Premier League in 2011.

4.) Edin Dzeko has scored 8 Premier League goals this season – 7 of those goals have been scored away from home.

5.) Manchester City have scored the first goal in every Premier League game they have played in this season – Only team in league to have this record in tact.