In For The Hat Trick

It is fast becoming the bane of all good football, the enemy of exciting, attacking play and the most infuriating tactical ploy that I have ever had the misfortune to encounter.

In a summer blessed with two major international tournaments, one of the most prominent tactical set ups seems to be that which involves two defensive, holding midfield players. At the Gold Cup, Bob Bradley and the United States paired together Jermain Jones and Michael Bradley in the center of midfield, while at the Copa America Sergio Batista sent his Argentina side out yesterday night with Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Mascherano sitting right in front of the back line.

Throughout their Gold Cup campaign, one recurring theme of the United States’ play was their slowness in possession, a detrimental quality which inhibited their ability to storm past inferior teams like Panama and Guadeloupe. When the conduit linking defense and attack is Jermain Jones, slowness is guaranteed, an exceptional holding midfielder, Jones is lacking in ability when it comes to passing and composure in possession. Yet, Bob Bradley kept on starting Jones and Bradley; even against opposition deprived of  midfield creativity, he still saw it fit to play two defensive midfield players.

With the start of the Copa America, a new player in the excess defensive midfield game has emerged- Argentina. Boasting a front three of Messi, Tevez and Lavezzi, Argentina are rarely a side associated with conservative play, yet their starting line-up yesterday was remarkably unambitious given the level of their opponents. Teams such as Bolivia at the Copa America, and Guadaloupe at the Gold Cup, are types that regional powerhouses like Argentina and the USA should sweep past with ease, however, both sides have struggled, mainly due to their obstinate usage of holding midfielders.

Against high class opposition, the use of multiple holding midfield players is an effective strategy; when facing a midfield rife with creative talent, additional sources of defensive mettle are needed to combat the opponent’s attack. But why field such a conservative midfield line-up against minnows like Guadeloupe, Bolivia and Panama? Teams of their ilk will usually bunker down and wait for the opposition to break through, when a more attacking player is fielded, penetration of a deep lying back four becomes more feasible.

Argentina in particular are guilty in that regard. While the US can be excused partially as they lack a really classy treqartista type player, Argentina seem intent on keeping the one that they have rooted to the bench. Moreover, if Argentina’s stated desire is to get the best out of Messi by playing in the style of Barcelona, then maybe they should take a closer look at how Barcelona do play. In a fluid 4-3-3 formation, Barca field only one holding midfielder in Serigo Busquets, who sits behind two attacking midfield players- the well renowned Xavi and Iniesta.

Javier Pastore, if started ahead of Mascherano or Cambiasso, might have been able to provide a bit of ingenuity from midfield, a classy touch that could have helped goals permeate through the staunch Bolivian rear guard. A Pastore-Banega combination in attacking midfield, with Mashcherano sitting just behind, would be much more reminiscent of Messi’s Catalan owners, and would therefore come closer to providing the desired effect.

While the United States have already seen their international campaign end in failure, Argentina still have time to right themselves; their next match is on July 6th against Colombia, hopefully then we will see their midfield bathed in attacking splendor.

For every Chicharito, there are a thousand and one ridiculously ill fated transfers that take place every year. Here are three of them that have caught my eye this summer. 


1. Carson To Bursaspor- It’s difficult to know where to start with this one, whether it be with Carson’s mediocrity, or the ridiculousness of an English player trying his luck in Turkey, it will all boil down to the same thing- I just can’t see those terrifically British teeth of Scott Carson biting into a kofta kebab or a patlican dolma. I just can’t see it.

Carson has enjoyed a mixed career, he was briefly the next great English goalkeeper- before he got the rite of passage mistake which always seems to be bestowed on players with that title. In eight years, Carson has bounced around the two highest English divisions, playing for Leeds, West Brom, Villa and Liverpool among others. And now he’s gone to Turkey. I can’t say I’ll miss him, his smile, or even that error against Croatia, but good luck to him nonetheless.

2. McLeish To Aston Villa- According to the Aston Villa chief executive, Alex McLeish was brought to Villa in part for his Premier League experience. Now, whether two and a half seasons in the Premier League constitutes experience is debatable, but I’ll let that go for now, what’s interesting is that the Villa chief didn’t mention the other thing that McLeish has experience with. Relegation. Twice relegated over the course of a four year career in English football isn’t a particular impressive resume, certainly not one that should attract an ambitious club like Aston Villa.

Alex McLeish will start out at Villa next season with his most important potential allies, the fans, firmly against him due to his Birmingham history, and you can be sure that if the shape of Villa’s opening week bares even the slightest resemblance to a pear, he’ll be out of there faster than Birmingham’s nosedive into the Championship.

3. Kevin Nolan To West Ham- If you haven’t already read me vent against this transfer, then you will now. A move from the Premier League to the Championship is one clear indicator that perhaps Kevin Nolan intelligence doesn’t differ drastically from that expected of an English footballer, but his move to West Ham proves that actually, it does differ drastically. The lad makes Rio Ferdinand look like some kind of blend between Stephen Hawking and Hermione Granger.

Freshly relegated from the Premiership, West Ham is what happens when you put porn directors in charge of a football club. Soon to be stripped of all their best players, West Ham may struggle to return to the Premiership at the first time of asking, condemning former Newcastle midfielder Nolan to a career that will likely end in England’s second division.

Over the last couple of season, Sunderland have been one of the most disappointing clubs in English football. Consistently strong in the opening months of the season, the Black Cats always fall off after Christmas, and end up fighting against relegation. Last year, the team proved themselves capable of beating Chelsea three-nil, yet vulnerable to more than just the odd off day; see under the first Tyne-Wear derby of 10/11.

Over the past couple years, Sunderland have brought in seventeen players, a level of transfer activity which is as unhealthy for the team as it is for the club’s finances. Upfront is where most of the money seems to be going; Darren Bent, Frazier Campbell, Asamoah Gyan, Benjani, David Healy, Dwight Yorke, Michael Chopra, Daniel Welbeck, Kenwyne Jones and Stephane Sessegnon have all come in or gone out over the past two seasons, a group which has been added to further by the signings of Conner Wickham and Ji Dong-Won this week.

With this constant merry go round of players, it is no surprise that Steve Bruce’s team struggle for consistency; too often do they purchase in excess during the January transfer window, and too often do they use the summer as an excuse for a total face lift of the starting eleven.

Already this summer, Sunderland have splashed out on two members of Birmingham’s relegated midfield, Sebastian Larsson and Craig Gardner will both expect to start next season, presumably they will be Bruce’s alternatives to the failed Sulley Muntari experiment and the departing Jordan Henderson. How a Champions League winner and a man who has attracted interest from some of the top clubs in England can be adequately replaced by two players incapable of keeping their former team in the division escapes me.  Moreover, that is half of the midfield changed from last season, and with Lee Cattermole unlikely to avoid red card trouble for any substantial run of games, one further central player will be rotating in and out.

For a team like Sunderland, the only way to advance is to keep a core group of players together for the long haul, and while that is difficult with big clubs constantly poaching, surely Niall Quinn and Steve Bruce could be doing a little bit better. Had Henderson been part of a midfield built for the long term, and not one featuring players like Steve Bruce’s creative band aid Bolo Zenden, then maybe the England international would have considered staying, so as to help Sunderland advance. 

There are clubs in football who have perfected the rebuilding and replenishing cycle, Portuguese giants FC Porto seem to have learned to deal with the departures of important players, but they wield a certain financial clout which Sunderland can’t come close to matching. The Porto model is one that works for them, consistent qualification for major European competition insures that the team can recruit top level talent, while Sunderland can only replace stars with three or four mediocre players.

It seems like year after year, Sunderland are just rotating out average players for other average players, forcing themselves into a perpetual state of renewal that has kept the team’s progress stagnant. Every time the side looks to have made an advancement, they take a step back, something clearly demonstrated by the arrival of Gyan and departure of Bent.

Going into the new season, there is nothing new about Sunderland’s transfer exploits, star players have been offloaded, and replaced by quantity not quality; next year could be another frustrating season for fans of Sunderland AFC.

It is a subject which polarizes opinion, prompts fits of nostalgia and starts arguments between football fans around the World. Messi’s ascent to the top of the modern game is undoubted, but whether he has surpassed that and moved above some of football’s greatest names is another question. Messi is the greatest player in the World right now, but is he the greatest of all time?

In terms of club success and individual achievement, he tops the lot, but internationally Messi still falls short of players like Maradona and Pele. A Quarter Final exit at the hands of Germany last summer cast more doubt over whether Messi deserves to be placed alongside his two of his South American predecessors, doubt that the Argenitinan will have ample opportunity to quash at the upcoming Copa America.

Having not won an international trophy since the 1993 Copa America, Argentina are desperately in need of success on home soil, success that will only come if Lionel Messi finally performs. Complementing him is an army of attacking talent, players like Higuain, Pastore, Tevez and Milito are all match winners, but none possess the genius of Messi.

When Argentina kick off against Bolivia on Friday, all eyes will be fixed on the little number ten, everyone in the stands on their feet when he receives the ball.

“My greatest dream is to win Copa America.” A way to gee himself up for an upcoming tournament, or an actual slight to the World Cup, it is hard to tell, but you can be sure that this competition is one that Messi dearly wants to win. Standing in his way are the usual suspects, a team of Brazilians headed by youngsters like Neymar and Ganso, as well as a group of overachieving Uruguayans, inspired by a front three as good as any in World football.

For Messi, winning a major international tournament will be his greatest challenge, one that could end up deciding his place in the pantheon of legends. If Messi and Argentina capsize as they did in 2007, then the voices of doubt will begin to approach fever pitch, until they reach a volume that would only be silenced by an unlikely success on enemy soil three years from now.

For now though, Messi must forget about Brazil 2014 and focus on the task at hand. Coming off a wonderful season with Barcelona, he is in a rich vein of form, and is as ready as he will ever be to topple the Brazilians.

Will Argentina win the 2011 Copa America?
If they do, is Messi the best player of all time? Is he already?

Read more by David Yaffe-Bellany @ Red Flag Flying High
Follow him on Twitter @INFTH

For United fans, the memories of Sir Alex’s last goalkeeping search are ones best tucked away into the same drawer that houses their last two European Cup finals. With Peter Schmeichel departing, United had the mammoth task of replacing one of the best of all time, something they failed miserably at until a certain Dutchman came in to save the day.

Fabian Barthez, Tim Howard, Massimo Taibi… none of them could fill the void, in a period which was stained by mistake after mistake after mistake. A shot squeezing under Taibi’s body embodied the botched search, one which was both frustrating and damaging.

Hoping to have learned from past errors, Ferguson entered goalkeeper search 2.0 this summer following the retirement of the man who finally did replace Peter Schmeichel; Edwin Van Der Sar. Van Der Sar’s time at United was silver lined, four Premier League titles rolled in, complemented by one in Europe, as Van Der Sar’s save in the Champions League final shootout of 2008 brought United their third ever European Cup.

The number of names linked to the newly vacant goalkeeping post at United was unprecedented, it seemed that every goalkeeper who had made one fantastic save in the last decade was a potential target. A few years ago, there was Igor Akinfeev at CSKA Moscow, and more recently, big names like Manuel Neuer, Pepe Reina and Gigi Buffon. However, as is his wont, Ferguson elected to go with a young gun, Spanish U21 international David De Gea.

There is no question that De Gea has potential; he saved a penalty brilliantly in last year’s Uefa Super Cup, and has carved out a decent reputation for himself in La Liga, but is it really an intelligent move for United to go with someone so young? Of all the positions on the football pitch, goalkeeper is the one which rewards youth the least; it is strange for a goalkeeper to peak before his early thirties. It could be with that in mind that Ferguson has chosen De Gea, after all, his best years are yet to come and Ferguson will want to insure that United are the team to enjoy them.

Ferguson found in his last goalkeeping search, that whether a player is young or old, experienced or inexperienced, they are still capable of dropping clangers; see under both the youthful Taibi and the veteran Barthez.

However, in the end it was a man of experience who came through for the Red Devils, Edwin Van Der Sar had already won a European Cup, and played for Juventus in the Serie A, before he signed for Manchester United. Supposedly in the frame for the goalkeeping post 2.0 were players that had starred in World Cups, won Champions Leagues, and even pulled off blinders against Ferguson’s men, yet it was a man still to play on Europe’s biggest stage who was chosen. De Gea’s impending signing sees Ferguson ignore his success with Van Der Sar, and take a risk on youth; though I guess, that is the Ferguson way.

But what the Scotsman may come to realize as the season draws on, is that promoting youth in the outfield positions is much, much different than placing it in goal. While a mistake put down to youthful exuberance in midfield often goes unpunished, one made in between the goalposts is always significantly more severe.

Last time I raised a concern about the prospect of De Gea joining United I was slated, so I want to make it clear this time that this should not be perceived as a damning verdict on the Spaniard’s career in the sport, merely a warning, that sending a man with only a season and a half of top level experience to his name into the boots of one of the greatest football has ever seen is both unfair to the player, and jeopardizing to the club.

Yes, De Gea might go on to blossom under pressure, rule the roost for decades, and vindicate Sir Alex, proving that his risk had payed off. Yet at the same time, the potential of disaster is there, the potential for another Taibi.

Will De Gea succeed at United?

Read more by David Yaffe-Bellany  at EPL Talk
Follow me on Twitter @INFTH