Blues Play the Balancing Game
Here is another article by Dale.
You’re Alex McLeish. You have players like Michael, Gardner, Phillips and young Jake Jarvis at your disposal. You have guided your team to premier league safety with ten games still to play. What’s your next move?
The man himself has reiterated his desire to push as high up the table as possible before the end of the season. He has been quoted as setting 51 points as a new target. But with a team of regulars approaching their 35th game of the season legs and minds will inevitably start to tire. Or will they? With this in mind, does McLeish opt to introduce the likes of Michael and Gardner on a regular basis and try to draft in some fringe players to see out the season and give some invaluable experience to the young lads. Or does he maintain the stance of consistency and stick with his strongest team. The key to this is balancing both.
Nobody can deny the effort, desire and commitment the team has put in this year and the proof is in the pudding. 43 points with ten games to spare. This must have taken its toll, physically and mentally, especially on the starting 11 who went 13 games unchanged. But with the summer on the horizon, and possible transfer targets keeping a close eye on us, does McLeish look to make one last charge up the table and field his strongest team for the remaining games. Personally, I would like to see us finish as high as possible, making Blues a more attractive prospect for would-be signings. A top half finish would be an amazing achievement and in the position we are currently in, looks a certain possibility. Everton, Arsenal and Liverpool all travel to St.Andrews in the coming weeks along with away ties to Manchester City and The Vile so it is no foregone conclusion that a finish in the top 10 is guaranteed.
I believe McLeish is the type of manager with ambition and desire at the heart of his thoughts and will go for broke! He will start to implement one or two players into the team but the fundamentals of the starting 11 will remain. With this, the character and spirit of the team will rub off on the players coming in, rather than change the essence of the team with one or two with the winning mentality. A lot of what will happen depends on the players and if they fancy the fight now the war is over. Each individual player will react differently but I think we have enough “troops and winners” in our side to finish the season with a flourish.
McLeish now has a nice dilemma on his hands and the forthcoming weeks will tell us a bit more about the stern Scotsman and his ambitions for the club.
Dale Moon
McLeish Left Craven for a Win in the Capital
Filed under: Articles by Dale Moon, Blues News, Match reports, Matches
Here is Dale’s take on yesterday.
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As the heat is turned up at the business end of the championship, many of the premier league hopefuls should take note of the fine margins between victory and defeat that make the country’s top division such an unforgiving place. A trip to Craven Cottage was always going to be a tough ask for a blues side that haven’t recorded a point away at any of the London teams this year. Fulham were in form and off the back of an impressive win against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League. The game was a real battle and to many pundits surprise, somewhat more entertaining than predicted.
And when after 3 minutes Chris Baird planted a textbook header past the helpless Mark Schwartzer and into his own net, Blues had something to hold onto and as we have seen throughout the season, they certainly have the capacity to have done so. Fulham huffed and puffed and pulled off a point blank save from Joe Hart after Simon Davies crept in behind the blues backline. Bobby Zamora looked threatening throughout and had transformed into what looked like a player full of confidence and ability overnight. It was not so long ago that the banks of the river Thames were mocking the striker who seems to have proved his critics wrong. That said, Danns and Johnson dealt with most things fairly well and confined Fulham to a few half chances from Davies and Zamora. Having got to half time with a slender lead, McLeish would have been encouraged by his team’s performances, resolute rather than remarkable.
Then on the hour mark Damien Duff rolled back the years to produce a goal out of nothing. He received the ball just inside the blues half in a wide right position and after going on a mazy run he cut inside onto his favoured left foot and unleashed a precise strike off the inside of the post and into the back of the net. Being critical you could have questioned whether any of the line of players Duff seemed to evade should have took responsibility and make a challenge rather than pass him on to the next man but take nothing away from the finish from the ex-Chelsea winger. Blues to their credit rallied and if it was not for the slightest of touches off Mark Scwartzer, McFadden’s 25 yard rocket would have put blues ahead for a second time in the game. Instead, the underside of the bar diverted the ball onto the line and spun out. The game opened up and as you would expect from the home team Fulham pushed for the winner.
90 Minutes were on the clock and the ball had bounced on the edge of the box when the usually Mr. Reliable Stephen Carr came rushing across and body checked Zoltan Gera. It was one of those moments you see coming but couldn’t stop as the right back committed to the challenge and gave away a dangerous free kick on the edge of the box. To me, it was obvious that the free kick was too close to the goal for the Beckham-esque curler over the wall and so Joe Hart should have occupied his side knowing there was a real possibility that the free kick taker would strike the ball that side of the goal. Bobby Zamora stepped up and crashed a shot that Hart could only get fingertips to as it nestled in the top corner of the blues goal. And with that the game was over. Questions over Joe Hart’s positioning but again a great strike after a silly free kick from a Blues perspective.
On Reflection, a point would have been a fairer result and Blues played their part in a highly contested game. But yet again we come away from the capital with no points and add Fulham to the list of West Ham, Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea for away losses. Lessons to be learnt? Well nobody can deny Duff’s strike but Stephen Carr’s rush of blood to the head cost us dearly, the wise Irishman will know himself that on another day would have used his experience to see out the game. Blues now welcome Wigan to St.Andrews and will look to take all 3 points from the strugglers but Blues being the Blues I know, never make it that simple.
Dale Moon
Mr. Wayne Rooney
Here is Dale’s latest article.
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Growing up in the mean streets of Croxteth, is it no surprise that Wayne Rooney has always had a sharp edge to his character. As a youngster is was football that dragged him away from the avenues of crime and mischief and provided him with a passion. A true passion that now, 76,000 people can bear witness to on a Saturday afternoon. Like many young lads before him, Rooney aspired to “make it”. Growing up watching the big, bustling and sometimes belligerent Duncan Ferguson, he found a childhood hero to aspire to be. Joining his boyhood club Everton at the age of ten, Rooney started to turn heads in Liverpool and many branded him as the “next big thing”. Then, a goal that would propel the prospect to unprecedented heights. Reigning champions Arsenal were the visitors at Goodison and on the back of a 30 match unbeaten run. A hard fought 1-1 draw beckoned as the clock ticked onto the 90th minute. Then off the bench stepped up 16 year old Wayne Rooney. A spectacular 30 yard strike cannoning off the underside of the bar made Rooney the youngest goal scorer in Premier league history and ending the gunner’s fantastic run.
Two years later, Rooney’s performances caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson and after seeing off Newcastle in a bidding war for the young starlet, the Evertonian was to join Manchester United for £25.6 million pounds. Rooney marked his debut against Fenerbahce with a hat-trick in a 6-2 win against in the champion’s league. He went on to bag 11 goals in his opening season and received the PFA Young Player of the Year Award for 04/05. However Rooney’s aggressive nature also provided some of the more forgettable instances during his career. Sarcastically clapping the referee for booking him earned him a sending off coupled with another dismissal for an alleged elbow on now Real Madrid defender Pepe during the Amsterdam tournament of 2006. That same year many national newspapers blamed Rooney for England’s departure from the 2006 world cup, after stamping on Ricardo Carvalho in the quarter-final tie earning a red card from referee.
However it was the arrival of Christiano Ronaldo that somewhat overshadowed Rooney’s performances and although the Englishman was still a prized asset to United, it was Ronaldo that began to run the show. His 12 goals during the 07/08 season was by no means an underachievement but the 31 goals and string of world class performances by Ronaldo issued a new star of the Stretford End.
Ronaldo parted company with United, opting for Real Madrid as his preferred destination for the fee of £80 million. This sparked doubts in many critics’ columns as to who would fill a void of goals and assists that Ronaldo previously acclaimed. Many believed United would falter without the Portuguese superstar but there was no need for Alex Ferguson to spend some of the money made available on a striker. As the remedy was right under their noses, like a big ginger chunk of vapour rub, in Wayne Rooney. Rooney currently occupies a more central role at United in every sense of the word. Playing down the spine of the team, the United striker has evolved into one of the most accomplished, classy and gifted players to grace English football. His grit and determination to get the ball from the opposition has made him a fans favourite and coupled with his improved goal scoring record, Rooney has become the ultimate player.
England travel to South Africa this summer in their quest for World Cup Glory. Spearheading their attack is non-other than the new and improved Wayne Rooney. Undoubtedly a more mature, professional and prolific player that previously put on the three lions shirt in a major competition. If the form of this transformed and rejuvenated striker continues, England may just have a chance of doing the unthinkable. Rooney brings something to a team that no other player can. Not only has he immense talent, quality and skill but he has the bite, the determination and the grit that sets him apart. He can produce moments of quality but unlike his Bulgarian team mate Berbatov he will work tirelessly for the team. As an Englishman, I hope and pray that Wayne Rooney can transfer his performances for his club onto an international scale and fire England to world cup glory in South Africa this summer.
Ladies and Gentlemen I give you, Mr. Wayne Rooney.
Cesc’ Fab but Fragile Arsenal Facing
Here is Dale’s latest article.
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Arsenal’s artistic style of football has striking similarities to Van Gough, a genius at what they do but a product of their own downfall. The gunners are yet to see silverware since 2002 and there’s only so many “end of the seasons” that Wenger can be judged on. As a manager, it is admirable that he has taken the moral stance on financing the team but how longer does he have before the North London faithful start jetting out of the Emirates. There are 2 departments to the Arsenal team that have to be addressed if they have any realistic ambitions of reaching the heights of the “invincibles”.
Goals and Power. Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney. Frequently found in every tabloid readers fantasy football team at the start of the season (to the expense of having a Titus Bramble-esque defence as a large amount of the £50m was gobbled up by the front 3). They cost money but they score goals. The correlation is simple yet too complex for Arsene Wenger “the talent spotter” to digest.
Goals. Wenger prides himself on producing the best young, exciting and talented players to ever grace the premier league and beyond. Snapping up players for a fraction of their worth and selling them on for tens of millions of pounds. His uncanny ability to develop players is unmatched by anyone in the business since Ferguson’s Beckham, Neville, Scholes and Giggs era. However Wenger MUST break the bank and sign a proven world class goal scorer to compete with the superstars strikers of Rooney, Drogba and Torres. Van Persie looked to fill that void until getting injured on international duty during Holland’s friendly against Italy back In November. Wenger should have addressed the problem during the transfer window with Marouane Chamakh the obvious signing. Instead he has chosen to wait for the summer to sign the Moroccan hit man as his contract expires allowing him to join on a free. In doing so he has kissed goodbye to any hopes of winning their first premier league title for 7 years. Two successive defeats against United and Chelsea made sure of this.
Power. Arsenals visit to Stamford Bridge was a demonstration of how power is everything in the toughest league in the world. Down the spine of the Chelsea machine stood Terry, Ballack and Drogba. Three powerful, commanding and authoritative figures up against the tipy-tapy trio of Gallas, Denilson and Nasri. The appropriate and yet tired cliché of boys against men has seldom being demonstrated with as much evidence. Arsenal were not without their own spell of pressure and had enough possession without reward. The difference in the two teams, on the day was the physique and clout in a Chelsea side that simply bullied Arsenal off the park. It seems Wenger has developed a seemingly dismissive approach to a vital element of the English game, disrespecting it almost. As a neural it would give me great pleasure in seeing an Arsenal team as talented and skilful as the current one lifting the evasive premier league title. Yet there are no points earned for style of football and for this reason the best opportunity Arsenal had for the past few seasons is slipping from their grasp.
Until Wenger learns that pretty football is simply not enough to win a title, Arsenal will be part of a cycle that starts with anticipation and promise but ultimately ends with disappointment and failure.
Dale Moon
No Favours at the Window
Here is Dale’s latest article, not a surprise that it is about the transfer window! Enjoy.
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Considering we’re constantly being told to spend our way out of a global recession, the January transfer window does anything but contribute to a financial solution. To tell the London stock exchange that trading can only take place during the summer and for a month in January would have unprecedented effects. Yet here we are, witnessing its ability to inflate, restrict and limit business and for what? The Lisbon treaty was met with such vile protest at 10 Downing Street and the euro sceptics arrived in their masses. I need not draw similarities to this ridiculous FIFA regulation drawn up by a governing body who seems intent on damaging the domestic game from there control obsessed offices in Zurich.
Managers constantly bemoan of the restrictions that the January transfer window brings. Since 2002 we have seen teams buy players at astronomical prices well above their value. Is it any wonder why now, attention seems to be turning to the debt ridden clubs that have been subject to Sepp Blatter’s ingenious invention? Some argue that the transfer window creates a spark of brief excitement, anticipation of what superstar will arrive at the club. The adrenaline of a deadline to meet and its supposed exhilaration tuning into sky sports news or flicking through the back pages of an ill informed tabloid that seems to link your club with every footballer with an extravagant name. In reality, seldom does such a period of time produce such little results. This year has seen the most boring, frustrating and inadequate transfer period its pathetic 7 year lifetime.
Blues didn’t help themselves. Announcing a war chest of twenty to forty million pounds at our disposal made securing a player for a reasonable price, if there is such a thing, simply unfathomable. All this triggered was clubs bumping up asking prices at any slightest hint of Blues interest. For Spurs to ask for more than £10m for a player who has hardly featured this season and hope to recoup nearly £14m they paid for him speaks volumes. We revealed our hand and in the case of Pavlyuchenko it may well have meant Tottenham could hold on in the hope we would cough up the money they knew we had! As frustrating as this January transfer window has been it also goes to show that McLeish really is a man based on morals. His responsible approach may not have seen a big money striker arrive down St. Andrews but it has maintained fundamental business principles. We have money but we will not be forced into spending it if the price is not right. For the remainder of the season we have placed our faith on the unpredictable Benitez, Cameron Jerome and the veteran Kevin Phillips. What’s the betting on a few more goalless draws and 1-0 wins before the end of the season? However, I for one will not be complaining should it see us secure a top half finish.
Dale Moon
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