Post European Game Syndrome

There is often an argument that after European games, teams tend to struggle to get the three points in their next game. Some argue that it’s due to the lack of preparation time, or the lack of quality in depth or even the lack of fitness. I myself have always thought that it was something along those lines too. 

Now, of course, there needs to be a degree of rationality and a consideration of the wider perspective.
Think about it, often teams can play poorly, yet still walk away with a win. So there is an argument that when people say a team isn’t as efficient or effective after a European game, they could mean in terms of performances, not the result. 

However, I wanted to see how each side that represented the Premier League in Europe this season faired in comparison to each other. 

However, before I point out my observations, we have to consider a few things. Firstly, we have to recognise some teams played more games after a European game, due to their progress in Europe. In order to combat this, I have added the points per game stat. 

Table: Premier League sides representing in Europe: Their record after European Games

Key Observations

·         Business as usual for Manchester United: After European games, Man United have been machine efficient. United won 7 of their 8 post European games which clearly demonstrates this. Perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson’s effective rotation and strength in depth played a key role in Man United’s consistency.

·         Arsenal unbeaten after European games: Both Arsenal and Man United are unbeaten after their European games. But considering this from Arsenal’s perspective, it shows how difficult they are to beat. Their experience and knowhow through many years of having to manage the Champions League and the Premier League is one of the reasons why they remained unbeaten.

·         Man City distinctly average after European games: Man City’s record is pretty average, to be fair. Although they only lost once and conceded the least out of the teams analysed (5), I think they should have done better. But Man City will argue, they had tough games after their Champions League duties, after all, they faced Liverpool away, then Arsenal at home and then Man United at home. But given the squad at Manicni’s disposal, you’d expect them to win one of those games.

·         Liverpool consistently inconsistent: Liverpool’s record after European games isn’t great. The key issue is the high number of draws, which is one of the differences from them being a top 6 side. However, what is interesting is that Liverpool kept 4 clean sheets, which is the highest (alongside Chelsea). In some respects, this shows progress is being made at Anfield, but clearly, more work needs to be done to sustain and build on it.

·         Newcastle shipping goals: Newcastle conceded 20 goals, which is an incredibly high number for a side playing in Europe and for me it symbolises their immense decline this season. Last season, Newcastle were far more solid and settled side defensively. Perhaps the club have missed Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini who have missed parts of the season for one reason or another.

·         Newcastle actually doing rather well…: Although Newcastle are conceding a hell of a lot of goals, they are actually winning fair number of games too. It’s intriguing; there was strong criticism that the lack of depth effected Newcastle’s campaign this season. Although this may well be a valid point, one may need to take it with a pinch of salt. As Newcastle won 5 games from 13, this shows the club has the ability to win games even when playing on a Thursday and then on a Sunday. But it is crucial to note, all 5 of Newcastle’s wins came at home.

Why is Demba Ba firing Blanks for Newcastle?

To be perfectly honest, Demba Ba has been the best free transfer signing of this season. The former Hammers man has scored 16 Premier League goals this term, with 8 coming at home and the other 8 of course coming on the road.

During December, it was perfectly arguable to say Demba Ba was the best signing of the summer. And it was merely stating the obvious that Demba Ba was one of the finest strikers in the Premier League. After all, he was scoring for fun. But when his international team mate Papiss Cisse joined, everyone thought Newcastle now had two brilliant strikers, meaning double the goal action for Newcastle faithful.

But things haven’t worked out exactly like that. 

Indeed, Papiss Cisse has hit the ground running in emphatic fashion. I mean 13 goals in 13 games in the Premier League is unbelievable, especially considering its his first few months in the division too.  And if you’ve seen his recent goals, most of them are just incredible, some of them are worldie efforts. 

But the partnership between Cisse and Ba hasn’t worked out completely to plan. And it’s had its most devasting effect on Ba. In fact, whenever the two have started a game Ba has failed to score in all of those games. 

But why is this the case?

To find out, we’ve taken Ba’s stats from when he was in lethal form playing in the middle as the main man at Newcastle (so stats from August to January). And we’ve also taken his stats from when Cisse joined the club (February till May).

Stats via EPL Index

It’s key to note, one of the first things Pardew did to facilitate Cisse was to shift Ba to a more left sided role, as opposed to playing them both up top. However, the strikers would often swap roles during games. But recently, Ba has occasionally gone up top with Cisse in certain periods of matches. And when this has happened, Ba has looked far more potent, especially if one looks at his final two games against City and Everton. 

Starting off with Ba’s shots stats, the Newcastle’s number 19 went from 60 attempts on goal, to 49.  The decline in shots, could show Ba struggling to get into the key positions or his favourable positions to attempt to score. But the most alarming stat, which further indicates this is Ba’s shots on target record. Prior to the arrival of Cisse, Ba had 30 shots on target, by the end of the season, Ba managed exactly half of that.  Furthermore, since playing from the left hand side, Ba has had more shots blocked too.  This could indicate defenders are more capable of nullifying Ba’s threat from the left hand, thus restricting his effect on the game.  

Ba’s move to the left handside has seen his shot accuracy decline rather drastically. From the start of the season to January, Ba had a 63% shot accuracy. While by the end of the season, it was at 45%. For me, this symbolises just how Ba has struggled to get into his favourable positions to be at his most clinical sharpness.

Diagram of Ba goal placements:

If you look at Ba’s goals placements, most have been placed in the bottom left hand side. This to an extent, reinstates, why Ba has struggled to score in the second half of the season. Ba’s move to a more deeper left sided role has meant he has struggled to get into his most natural and instinctive position to find the net.  After all, if he's playing in a more left sided role, his chances of scoring via the bottom left hand corner are limited, due to his aim being narrowed by his initial position.

To many, Ba hasn’t done a brilliant job in his new role at Newcastle. You can see their point. I mean he has been anonymous since Cisse has joined. But what’s interesting is that in his deeper role, the Newcastle number 19 has won more aerial duals and won more tackles and he has also seen more of the ball too, as suggested by the number of passes he’s made. As much as this shows Ba getting involved in the nitty gritty of the game, Ba has struggled to actually create sufficient chances for his team mates, especially for Cisse. In his deeper role, Ba created just 10 chances, assisting once. But on the same token, when Ba was leading the line he assisted just once again and in fact created fewer chances (9). It’s transparent this is a feature of Ba’s game which he has to improve on. Ba as a target man or as a deep forward, he must be more effective in creating chances for his team mates. 

But what’s interesting is that in his deeper role,  Ba has made less final third passes and he has also attempted less crosses. For me, this along with the drought of goals and the lack of chances created it suggests two things. It firstly suggests Ba has not fully understood his new role in the Newcastle side, hence his anonymity in the second half of the season.  Or it could highlight Ba is not comfortable in the role, which would probably explain why he’s been on such dramatic goal drought this season.

For me, it’s a mixture of not understanding his new role and not being comfortable in it. As Demba Ba is a man who played in the right position can score for fun. Ba knows this himself more than anyone and one could argue, it’s taken its toll on his confidence. 

Now, with statistics, it’s hard to measure up confidence. Actually its impossible. But there are a few indicators. The clear chance conversion rate gives a decent indicator. Ba went from 62% to nearly half of that by the end of the season. Normally, Ba’s clear cut chance conversion should have stayed around 62- 50%, but the big decline shows Ba has lost that spark and confidence he once had in front of goal.

But the most devastating and most alarming stat is his conversion rate. Prior to Cisse’s arrival, Ba had a chance conversion of 33% and now that stat is down to 3%. That’s a huge decline of huge proportions. It demonstrates just how the confidence has been drained out of the player, and it hasn’t been helped by him being played out of his favourable position.  The few goals scored, the clear cut conversion and chance conversion rate worryingly indicate, Ba is not only out of form but it could suggest the player is suffering from fatigue too. One must recall Ba also played in the African Cup of Nations in January, granted it was for a very short amount of time, but the travelling and climate changes could have taken its toll on his body.  

Demba Ba has declined severely since January. The player looks uncomfortable in his new position and he seems bankrupt of confidence. It is crucial in the summer, Pardew devises a plan to finally get the best out Ba again. The Newcastle boss may need to redefine the role for Ba, thus attempting give Ba a better understanding of how he wants him to play in the position behind Cisse. But Ba himself must take a good break in the summer and come back in pre-season with the determination to rediscover his goal scoring touch and adapt to the role Pardew has set him.

However, I believe in order for Cisse and Ba to both be effective. Newcastle may have to do a Chelsea. Newcastle may well have to play one or the other, as opposed to starting them both. Just like Chelsea have done to facilitate Torres and Drogba. As it’s clear both players are at their most lethal when leading the line. Furthermore, with the Europa League to contend next season, it can’t be expected Ba and Cisse can both start all of Newcastle’s games. If the duo are rotated, it could lead to Newcastle having an eye for goal not only in the Premier League but in Europe too.

But so far, Ba’s new role at Newcastle demonstrates he is a player who is uncomfortable in the position he is playing in. It is crucial Newcastle and Ba get back to the drawing board and find a way to get him and Cisse singing off the same hymn sheet. 

(Stats from EPL Index)

Video: Demba Ba admits his addiction to Syrup

Well, this is random. When Demba Ba is asked by Geoff Shreeves to reveal a random secret which no one knows about him, Ba reveals his love for syrup. The Senegalese international who has 15 Premier League goals to his name also admitted he loves having syrup in his water! Footballers can be odd. Very odd..

Michael Owen: did he ever fulfil his true potential?

Michael Owen is a figure who divides opinions. Some view him as a player who was once a World Class player and a player who took the world by storm, but for others it’s a completely different story.

But almost everyone agrees in his younger days, Owen was world class. To put things into perspective, Michael Owen is the 6^th most profile striker in the Premier League era, with 149 goals. He's scored more Premier League goals than, Teddy Sheringham, Dwight Yorke, Ian Wright and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But the real question which divides many is: did Michael Owen ever fulfil the potential that surrounded him during his teenage and early years in professional football.

Indeed, this is a rather inflammatory question which stirs a lot of debate. Especially as present Michael Owen, now 31, spends most of his time sat on the bench at Man United whilst lapping up the trophies.

But rather ironically, as a teenager, Michael Owen was a certain starter for his side and more importantly, Owen was a consistent goal scorer at the tender age of 18. It’s very easy to forget how much of a prodigy Michael Owen was when he was a teenager.

Owen’s scoring knack began at just 17 years of age. He even scored on his Premier League debut in 1997 away at Wimbledon.

But that goal was a plain glimpse of what was to come from Michael Owen.

The following season, Michael Owen’s first full season in professional football, the then 18 year old scored a total of 18 Premier League goals. A demonstration of his achievement is truly represented by the fact the teenager finished joint top goal scorer alongside Dion Dublin.

Michael Owen took the Premier League by storm. He was untouchable. His electrifying pace, movement and clinical finishing made him an incredibly potent and threatening striker– even for the most experienced of defenders.

The fact Owen, a mere 18 year old, a player had no previous Premier League experience could take England’s elite league by storm summoned many to believe Michael Owen would become a global superstar. A player would end his career in the same bracket as many English legends such as Gary Linekar, Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer.

But the expectations of his potential grew to a sky high level by the 1998 World Cup in France. His magnificent individual goal against Argentina proved not only could he compete with the best in England, he could also compete with the best players in the world.

After this glorifying World Cup for Michael Owen was destined for more than just a global superstar, he was perceived as a player who would go onto be an all time great footballer: a player in the ranks of Pele, Ronaldo and Maradona.

To be fair to Owen, with the global attention which was following and expecting from him, he initially didn’t fail to deliver. His progression continued in a substantial fashion after the 1998 World Cup.

In the 2001/02 season Michael Owen reached his best goal tally for a season. He scored 28 goals in 43 games. Upon reflecting, one could argue the 2001/02 season was Michael Owen’s pinnacle season. Owen was single handily winning games for his club and this was internationally recognised.

The 2001 FA Cup final between Liverpool and Arsenal is the perfect example of Owen single handily changing the game for his team’s favour. In the final, Liverpool for most of the match were second best and looked odds on to lose the final. But a five minute spell of brilliance from Michael Owen transformed the game for Liverpool. Owen’s potent finishing and blistering pace caught a dominate Arsenal side completely off guard.

Michael Owen was the star. He was England’s finest striker. No English striker was anywhere near Owen’s abilities. The year 2001 ended with Michael Owen being crowned with FIFA’s Ballon d’Or - a vivid symbol of Michael Owen’s abilities and how they were leaving the footballing world in absolute awe.

However, Michael Owen for all of his talents was not enough for Liverpool to consistently challenge for the title. Continuously, Owen would lead by example scoring in the bucket loads, single handily carrying Liverpool from one game to the next. But his team mates were often no where near to his level of performing.

Inevitably, the writing was on the wall. In order for Michael Owen to reach the pinnacle of European football, he would have to win trophies. And that meant leaving his beloved Liverpool.

In 2004, this happened. Michael Owen transferred to Spanish giants Real Madrid. To many, this move was Owen’s downfall. Some label it as the end of the golden boy era for Michael Owen.

Make no mistake, Michael Owen was no golden boy at Real Madrid. The talented Englishman spent most of his time fighting for a place on the bench, often drawing criticism from the Spanish press and the fans for his inconsistent form.

Within a year, Owen arrived back in England.

Owen’s time at Newcastle was spoiled with injuries. Had Michael Owen returned to England and managed to stay injury free, maybe the striker would be performing to a very high level to this day, thus assisting him fulfil his full potential. But at Newcastle, Owen would take a few steps forward, scoring a number of goals. Then he would take a few steps back and would find himself injured for a lengthy period.

The consequence of continuous lengthy periods on the sidelines had adverse effects on Owen’s abilities. Owen style of play depended on his pace and sharpness. But without these components Michael Owen lacked the cutting edge, the confidence and crucially, the chance to be a serious thereat to the opposition.

Some argue, Michael Owen was an early peaker, but one can never be sure of this. If Owen hadn’t suffered from a history of injuries in the second half of his career, maybe he would have continued to progress or at least maintain his fantastic goal scoring form.

To be fair, Owen’s injuries were not spontaneous occurrences. They were subtly arising on the surface, even when Owen was at his peak.

Tom Nash (@ffootballer) argues because Michael Owen was exposed to so much high level football at a young age, it would inevitably end up catching up with Owen’s body. This is a fantastic point. By the age of 21, Owen had already played more than 95 Premier League games. Not only this, the sheer expectation, and summer tournaments at a young age must have had an effect on his body.

One must remember, even when Owen was in his early twenties, he suffered some lengthy injuries. In the 1999/2000 season, Owen played 30 games in total. While in the season prior, he appeared 40 times.

Perhaps if Michael Owen’s development was better protected by his national team and club, maybe Owen could have consistently played and performed at the highest level for a longer period of time. His sudden thrust into the highest level of football and his comfort in these surroundings created massive expectations which Owen had to strive to conform to.

It’s sad to say, but Michael Owen’s injuries have hindered him from reaching his true potential. If 10 years ago, one would ask where they would see Michael Owen being, many would speculate he would be playing week in week out continuously finding the net.

The grim reality is that Owen, finds himself predominantly on the bench at Liverpool’s arch rivals Man United. Something which I’m sure most United and Liverpool fans would have never imagined.

However, it cannot be denied. Michael Owen WAS world class. But in the early period of his career. But during a footballer’s conventional peak years (26-31 years old), Owen at that age was never able to regain his world class label.

But Owen was a special player. He held the hopes of the nation, he held the hearts of many football fans. Off the pitch, even at a young age Owen was a true role model not only to children, but to adults.

The regrettable aspect is that poor protection of the striker from his national team and clubs along with some poor transfers and the critical loss of crucial abilities have meant Michael Owen never truly fulfilled his potential.

But when Michael Owen retires from football, he probably will reflect on his career, considering all the if’s and buts. However, when he looks at the medals he has won and what he achieved in his career he will look back at his career with great pride.

Owen has won 89 England caps, scoring a sensational 40 goals. He has a Premier League medal, an FA Cup medal, three League Cups medals and one UEFA Cup medal in his cabinet.

Michael Owen was a special player, a world class player at times, but his decline in the second half of his career hindered him reaching his true potential.

Here are a collection of some of Michael Owen's best goals in a Liverpool shirt:

Why Newcastle’s transfer strategy is shrewd rather than ‘brainless’

There is something odd about Newcastle’s start to the season. Everyone had written Newcastle off. Most thought the team would be languishing in and around the bottom half of the table. While, rather brutally, some wanted the team to fail, as the club sold their best players rather enthusiastically and replaced them with talented players who have little Premier League experience

But the team have surprised everyone and have started the season in defiant fashion. After 7 games, Newcastle find themselves fourth and still unbeaten.

What’s more enlightening for the Newcastle fans is that the team look very balanced and cohesive. The side appear to have a fair spread of technical quality in a variety of positions.

Indeed, the season is still young, but this Newcastle side continue to have a growing potent and competitive bite.

One could argue a sector of this success is down to Newcastle’s transfer policy. However, because of the way the policy has been handled by the club, especially the sale of Newcastle players. People have condemned Newcastle’s strategy as ‘suicidal,’ ‘brainless’ and ‘utterly stupid.’

But if one takes a look at the players who arrived to the club, Newcastle’s ‘brainless’ strategy is filled with logic.

Player	From	Fee
Mehdi Abeid	Lens	Free
Yohan Cabaye	Lille	£4.3mill
Demba Ba	West Ham	Free
Sylvain Marveaux	Rennes	Free
Gabriel Obertan	Manchester United	£3.25mill
Davide Santon	Inter	£5mill
Rob Elliot	Charlton	£300k
Total players signed - 7		Total Spent - £12.85mill

Looking at the players signed, a lot can be revealed about Newcastle’s logic behind their strategy. Of course, four out of the seven new signings suggest a hint of a French revolution going on at Newcastle. But there is more to it than just ‘signing French players.’

It’s clear the club are looking to buy technical players, who have arguably not fulfilled their potential for one reason or another, for a reasonable price. The theme of not fulfilling their potential can easily be connected to some of Newcastle’s signings in the past 18 months. Some of the players signed have a history of injury issues, consistency issues and professionalism problems. The likes of Marveaux, Santon, Ben Arfa, and Ba have all suffered from long term injury issues.

But the key in this policy, is signing technically gifted players, for a low price. This gives Newcastle the chance of building a team consisting of quality players who can successfully compete in the Premier League. Of course, signing players who are injury prone comes with a massive risk. These new players may continue to suffer from injuries, thus hindering them from performing for the club. Not only this, if a player is continuously injured, it will have an effect on his sell on price, which could mean Newcastle could be selling at losses.

The principle Newcastle have pursued this strategy regardless of the players history of injuries it’s evident the board are willing to take a gamble.

Indeed, Newcastle’s transfer strategy contrasts rather dramatically to the strategies chosen by Liverpool and Manchester United. Both United and Liverpool have taken an active search for signing home grown players, whereas Newcastle have looked aboard to fill their squads. In fact, 57% Newcastle’s new signings this summer have come from abroad.

Again, there is great common sense in looking abroad especially in this current economic climate in football.

There is no denying that the English market is incredibly hyper inflated at the moment. The massive multi million pound sales of untested, unproven and inexperienced English youngsters have driven the value of Premier League players to a sky high level.

Perhaps this explains why Newcastle United have been searching nations such as France, Portugal, and Germany amongst others countries. These markets offer more value for money, and one could argue, they offer far more technically gifted players too.

Furthermore, another virtue of signing players based in France, Germany and Portugal is that the Premier League is held in a higher regard, in terms of reputation and economics. This means that players from the very best of France or Portugal are more likely to seriously consider an offer from a decent Premier League side such as Newcastle. Even regardless of the club’s last few years of underachievement. The perspective player knows they will get the chance to play in one the world’s most reputable and competitive leagues. Not only this, playing in the Premier League often means a substantial pay rise in comparison to the top leagues in other nations such as France or Portugal.

Newcastle’s transfer strategy has been well thought out and has not been constructed on impulse or panic buys. Undeniably, the strategy was born well before Alan Pardew joined the club.

A glance at Newcastle’s transfers in the 2010/11 season, which Chris Houghton started the season in charge, the club signed the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tiote.
One could argue, last season proved the strategy works for the club, as both players were highly impressive in their debut season.

But the principle that Newcastle’s strategy began well before the Pardew reign suggests the manager is not completely in control of transfers. This is especially clear when considering Alan Pardew. Firstly, in one of his earlier press conferences, Pardew stated he wanted to keep Andy Carroll at Newcastle, but a few months later, Carroll was sold. Another example is when the club were actively looking to sell Joey Barton, during this period Pardew continuously selected Barton in his Newcastle XI.

The odd element of the strategy is that there is no visible transfer orchestrator at Newcastle. The club are unwilling to assign anyone in the ‘director of football’ bracket, as it could reignite the bitter resentment and frustrations which the fans felt when Kevin Keegan resigned in 2008 because his authority was flouted by the presence of a director of football.

With hindsight, Chris Houghton could have been fired as he was unwilling to conform the board’s transfer strategy. While his successor Alan Pardew is known to have a good personal off the field relationship with Mike Ashley along with other members of the Newcastle board. So Pardew could be more willing to accept the strategy.

However, Newcastle’s board have been very successful in making a healthy profit in the past year.

The mere economics of Newcastle’s strategy symbolises that the club have been extremely shrewd with their dealings. For all the player changes which have happened this summer, in net spend, Newcastle United have spent just 850k for 7 players.

There is no denying Newcastle’s transfer policy takes a degree of risk. Signing certain players who have a history of injuries and have little Premier League experience could prove to be costly for The Toon Army.

But so far, the policy has been economically proficient, and has reaped rewards on the pitch.

This new look Newcastle side look assured, confident and solid.

Indeed, the strategy may have been handled badly especially the sale of key players, but there is logic and reasoning behind the players who have arrived at the club.

And with each positive result, the Newcastle revolution gets bigger and bigger.

Five Observations from Week 5 in the Premier League

1.) Fernando Torres takes one step forward then two steps back – For the first time in his Chelsea career, and for the first time in 2011, Fernando Torres has scored in two games in a row. It’s fair to say the old Fernando, the world class version is coming back to the surface. However, he seems to eclipse his positives actions with Chelsea with a negative action. His sending off this weekend symbolises this. Torres had no real need to lunge in with two feet up in the air. It was a woeful striker’s tackle. But just when you think Torres is finding his form, sharpness and goals, he commits an act which could possibly affect his consistency. Ironically, consistency is something he has craved for since moving to Chelsea.

2.) Man United gain a credible draw at Stoke – Yes, Man United’s 100% winning record is over. But it’s by no means a disaster. Already this season, Stoke have held Chelsea and have beaten Liverpool at home. Many of United’s league contenders will come to Stoke and will struggle to get all three points. Man United can also learn a lot from this result too. Although United’s defending has been relatively strong this season, at times they have shown their frailties. Peter Crouch’s goal for Stoke highlighted United’s poor defending from the set piece. Perhaps young Phil Jones should have been more tighter and more aware of the positioning of Stoke’s target man Peter Crouch. While just after Stoke’s goal, Rio Ferdinand’s miss kicked his clearance which nearly and should have given Crouch a chance to score his second goal of the game. But Sir Alex, the fans and the players will be even more aware that the champions need to put more focus in their defending, as the defensive lapse could have cost them the game. Indeed, David De Gea stood up to Stoke’s aggressive and direct nature. The new Man United goalkeeper made some crucial saves which helped preserved United from losing. With every game, the young Spaniard looks more confident, more settled and more of a natural successor to Van der Sar.

3.) Man City’ strength in depth is the difference – City had a very tough encounter versus Everton. The Merseysiders were committed, focused and organised in restricting Man City the opportunity to create and finish chances. For most of the game, Everton frustrated Man City. They simply couldn’t find a break through. Everton did a very good job in nullifying in- form players such as Edin Dzeko. However, for all the talent City started in the match, this could be matched by Man City’s quality on the bench. Step up James Milner and Mario Balotelli. Both substitutes scored both of the goals in the game. Everton could not cope with City’s quality on the bench, as a result, the likes of Silva and Aguero’s both stepped up after the introduction of Balotelli and Milner. It’s fair to say, against tough oppositions, Manchester City’s strength in depth could be the potential decider in the title race. After all, they possess many attacking threats, while as the game progresses and the opposition tire, the quality of attacking depth, especially on the bench could prove to be the difference. Just as it proved to be against Everton this weekend.

4.) Liverpool becoming ever more dependent on Luis Suarez – Liverpool were not great against Wolves this weekend. At times they were on top, and created many chances. But there were also periods when Wolves asked all the questions of Liverpool and The Reds didn’t defend that impressively. Offensively, the difference for Liverpool again was Luis Suarez. His movement, energy and creativity often left the Wolves defence feeling dizzy. But at times during the game, it was as if Suarez was the only Liverpool player looking to move in and out of pockets of space. Without his movement, it would seem as if Liverpool’s performance was lacklustre and short of creative ideas. It’s evident the other attacking Liverpool players need to show more intelligent movement in order to create space. But when Luis Suarez is in form, its not surprising a team becomes dependent on him. He is arguably a complete striker, who can create and finish himself, so is it surprising he becomes the focal point of team?

5.) The Newcastle United revolution gets bigger and bigger – Newcastle were widely tipped as the team who would be in and around the foot of the table at the start of the season. Due to the club selling key players such as Enrique, Nolan and Barton. But Alan Pardew and his new look Newcastle side have started the season off very impressively. After 6 games, they find themselves unbeaten, and are in fourth place with 12 points. The new signings seem to have given the club some balance and variation of quality. Attackers Demba Ba and Leon Best have so far consistently provided goals. One could argue that Ba has been rather inconsistent for Newcastle so far and has drifted in and out of games. It’s a fair point, he hasn’t been great. But against Blackburn he was a consistent threat, his pace, strength and instinctive finishing was the difference. His hat-trick will not only give The Toon Army some optimism, it will give them some pride. Furthermore, the return of Hatem Ben Arfa gives Newcastle even more quality and technical strength. Newcastle have rather quietly constructed a very good outfit which is proving to be a decent side.

Five Statistics from this weekend

1.) Fernando Torres has scored against 24/28 of teams he has faced in the Premier League.

2.) Four different players have scored a hat-trick for Newcastle United since the start of 2010/11 season

3.) Peter Crouch has scored for 6 different Premier League clubs in his career.

4.) Tottenham are the only team this season to pass more than 600 times in more than one game.

5.) Aston Villa are the third team in Premier League history to draw 5/6 of their opening games.

Andre Villas - Boas Scouting report v Newcastle 2005

This is incredible. Below is a scouting report from the new Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas. The report is highly in-depth and is intriguing to read.

This document really gives you an insight to the level of preparation and the high degree of tactical scouting which is done in professional football. Not only this, the document also shows the sharp tactical acumen of Villas-Boas.

If you're interested, Chelsea won the game Villas-Boas was scouting by 3 goals to nil.

Boas leaked report

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The Eternal Struggle - http://tiny.cc/1hl0v

Why Chelsea must drop Fernando Torres if they are to have any chance of success this season - http://tiny.cc/a3o11

Jose Mourinho. The ultimate manager or the ultimate journey man? - http://tiny.cc/ii8te

Why Michael Owen’s tweets are doing no favours for himself

On Tuesday night, I had my mind set on writing a small piece on the reasons why certain players are made captain's of their clubs. And whether they were given the armband for the right reasons. But something rather comical occurred on Tuesday night.

In fact it was Michael Owen who occurred.

Since Michael Owen has joined Twitter, he has provided me with great comedy. It’s a shame, as he doesn’t mean to be funny. But the manner in which he tweets and the content of them are simply golden comedy.

Owen has the habit of telling his followers about the Man United preparation prior to games and what the players are up to. This seems reasonable enough to be fair. But because he is Michael Owen and lets be honest, he isn’t the most respected player in some parts. People look at his tweets and mock him.

Here’s an example, ‘Shower, suited and booted, pre match meal, team meeting, coach to Wembley, Big K.Off. We be back on after the match hopefully in good mood.’ When Owen tweeted this, it was received with gloats from a variety of different fans. Some laughed at how excited Owen was to be on the bench. While others viewed him as a sad individual, who has nothing better to do with his time other then tweet about what his colleagues are up to.

Some of tweets Michael Owen comes up with are just magical. They are magical as there are simply so funny. After the Fulham game a few weeks ago, Owen tweeted, ‘Just got home. Another big win for us. I played 20 mins at the end but we played much better in the 1st half than in the 2nd.’ You kind of cant help but laugh at tweets like these.

It’s hilarious, simply for a number of reasons. Firstly, Michael Owen finally gets a game! Secondly, even he admits, United were poor in the second half. When he himself was introduced. It only suggests that his impact on the game was minimal. This kind of symbolises his decline. Owen at 23, would have never been on the bench. And he would never have got excited at playing 20 minutes. It shows how much things have changed. And this is what makes people laugh at Owen’s tweets. The mere change in mentality of the former England star.

But, his tweet about him scoring a crucial goal is absolutely priceless. Owen tweeted, ‘As I've already said, don't know where, don't know when, but there is an important goal to come from me this season - mark my words!!!’ Now, we all know, he will be lucky to even get a few minutes on the pitch in the run in, let alone an ‘important goal.’ The fact he has made only 8 league appearances clearly reinstates this. Perhaps, you should praise his positivity and enthusiasm. But tweets like that are asking people to ridicule him. Even without people ridiculing him, you sub- consciously laugh at him. You instantly think to yourself, hmm, does he even get a game for Man United these days?

Everyone knows that having a bit of an outburst on Twitter is a bad bad idea. It’s bad simply because on Twitter, and generally the internet, people are more likely to react in a vile manner.

Owen was angry with the poor reception he received at St. James’ Park and along with Man United’s disappointing draw. But his tweets represented a man who knows he is in decline and a man who knows the end is near.

Owen firstly tweeted, ‘From what most of you Newcastle fans are saying you should be pleased I left the club! If i had known that earlier I could have left sooner!’ Its clear, Owen is angry and disappointed. But reacting like that, is asking for people to mock and laugh at you. He doesn’t really help himself. As much as he has a right to defend himself, it also gives people especially those who dislike him even more ammunition to criticise him.

It also puts Owen in a rather depressing light. In my eyes, he hasn’t done much wrong to either Liverpool or Newcastle United. But the fans are bitter for various reasons. Perhaps, they have a right to be. But Owen should expect the fans to have some resentment towards him. After all, he has moved to a club which both Newcastle and Liverpool hate. Owen should be the bigger person and just ignore the perceptions of those fans. Its part and parcel of the game. Footballers earn an incredibly amount of money, they should expect people to seriously resent them.

A few moments later, Owen tweeted, ‘When I meet Newcastle or Liverpool fans they all respect what I've done for their clubs. In stadiums it changes, 1 boo and the rest follow.’ Again this clearly shows a man who is hurt by the way he is perceived at his former clubs. It seems he feels undervalued and unacknowledged. But again, saying this on Twitter doesn’t help his cause at all. @AintreeIron wittingly replied, ‘Well to ensure you get a fair reflection of public opinion I'll be sure and boo you next time I see you out and about.’ Owen doesn’t really help himself. As much as his intentions were to show his bemusement and annoyance towards the lack of respect he receives. On Twitter, people are going to take the piss out of him. But the sad thing is, it makes Michael Owen look like an even bigger joke.

No one can deny that Michael Owen’s twitter page has provided more fuel for Newcastle and Liverpool fans to mock him. After Stoke’s victory in the FA Cup semi final, Owen tweeted, ‘And Congrats to Stoke. Always admired Tony Pulis. They deserve their big day out. No team gets an easy game against them.’ @lukehewitt1985 tweeted in response, ‘fishing for a move Mike?’ Whatever he tweets, there will be someone laughing or mocking him. There are football fans who obviously have little respect for him.

Owen himself admitted, ‘you need thick skin to play this tweeting game.’ It’s not surprising in his case. Anything he tweets will be received with humour and irony. People just don’t take him seriously anymore.

Furthermore, Michael Owen’s status as a pantomime villain will only lead to him being continually bombarded with abuse on Twitter.

Perhaps Michael Owen really needs that thick skin.

Things you may like to read

Why Man United need to quickly find a replacement for Paul Scholes - http://tiny.cc/45nlj

How Twitter has changed spectation of football for the fans - http://tiny.cc/iqqjr

Why Man United’s win over Blackpool in January wasn’t a defining moment in their season - http://tiny.cc/ty7v7

Premier League Predictions for 20/04

Here are our predictions for the mid-week Premier League games. Our predictors this time round are Omar Chaudhuri of Five Added Minutes. And the Target Man.

Fixture	Ibby Akkas prediction		Omar Chaudhuri prediction		The Target Man prediction		Actual Score
Newcastle v Man United	1-1		0-1		0-2		0-0
Chelsea v Birmingham	2-0		2-0		3-0		3-1
Tottenham v Arsenal	1-3		1-1		2-2		3-3
Total correct scores	Correct Results -2	Perfect Results - 0	Correct Results - 2	Perfect Results - 0	Correct Results - 2	Perfect Results - 0

The Results

5 added minutes - 2 points

Omar Chaudhuri - 2 points

Ibby Akkas - 2 points

This week everyone got the majority of their predictions correct! So its not a surprise that its a 2 point draw between all the predictors. Thanks to both predictors for participating.


Be sure to check out the two predictors blogs. Both are brilliant reads!

Omar Chaudhuri - http://5addedminutes.wordpress.com/

The Target Man - http://thetargetman.com/

Both predictors can also be found on twitter too;

Omar Chaudhuri - @OmarChaudhuri

The Target Man - @TheTargetManblog

Things you may like to read

Why Arsenal's complacency and lack of professionalism has seriously hindered their chances this season - http://tiny.cc/y1tgc

Why Chelsea must drop Fernando Torres if they are to any chance of success this season - http://tiny.cc/ozm9k

Why Man United need to quickly find a replacement for Paul Scholes - http://tiny.cc/rgp8m