Half Season Analysis- Part 1

The first half the season has now come to an end and what a half it has been. The first half has been filled with humiliating defeats, shocking victories and many more surprises. Arsenal's shock big money signing, Liverpool's surge to the top and currently once again competing for the top honours, Chelsea's stuttering start, Manchester City simply annihilating anyone and everyone at home and Manchester United's uncertain start getting used to huge changes at the club. It is not only the traditionally top teams but also Everton who have shown they can mix it with the top clubs having beaten Chelsea and Manchester United and drawn games against Liverpool and Arsenal. Southampton have been another refreshing side in the top half of the league with an exciting brand of football showcased under Mauricio Pochettino.

Lack of patience from the club's board memebers has also reared its head on quite a few occasions this season, with André Villas-Boas (Tottenham), Martin Jol(Fulham), Steve Clarke(West Bromwich Albion) and Paolo Di Canio( Sunderland) out of jobs due to not being able to match the expectations of their owners.The lack of time given to managers in the league is something that has already been discussed on this blog before after the unfortunate sacking of AVB by the Spurs board. Ian Holloway the only manager who left on his own terms this season, after accepting that Crystal Palace needed someone new to help and bring the best out of this team, and  Tony Pulis has had a promising start with the club, one which has been earmarked for the drop this season. 

Now, time for the individual analysis. This will be a 4 part series where I dissect the performance of each team in the first half of the season. Marks will be given from ten and also as to the best performers and those who could do better.

Arsenal

Arsene Wenger: Can he finally end the trophy drought this season?

The date is 17 August, 2013. Referee Anthony Taylor has just blown the whistle for full time. A chorus of boos rings around the Emirates. Scoreline reads: Arsenal 1-3 Aston Villa. Arsenal fans leave the stadium wondering why the club hasn't signed players and preparing themselves for another season of a fight for the top four and wondering when will the board feel Wenger can do no better.

Fast forward to now and Arsenal fans are talking about a possible title challenge. They are top after the Boxing Day games.  They are happy with most things related to the club. In terms of transfer, who would not be happy after the club splashed a whopping 42.5 million pounds on a world class player in the form of Mesut Ozil. There are still complaints regarding not having bought a striker but the current form of the team has kept those noises to a whisper, for now.

Aaron Ramsey took the league by storm in his first few months, when he just could not stop scoring and has been the key to the clubs surge to the top. The Arsenal back five of Wojciech Sczcesny, Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Kieran Gibbs has brought alot of solidity to the team and Wenger has been able to build on that. Where once the club's defence seemed to get their own fans nervous, it now exudes confidence.

Aaron Ramsey:  One of the driving forces behind the club's resurgence

One area where Arsenal seems enriched with quality is their midfield. Wenger has almost two options for each position in midfield and that has certainly helped him this season to rotate his players around, ensuring they remain fresh. Wenger might also look to bring in a striker to help ease the burden off Olivier Giroud, who has done admirably well for his part in the side. He will eventually need support and Wenger might buy it in January. Buying good quality players is never easy in January, hence the Frenchman will be cautious in his approach.

The club are playing some of their best football in quite some time and look to be serious title contenders. Since the signing of Ozil, I have pegged Arsenal to be outside favourites for the title. Their performances when the pressure is on them, is yet to be answered. Arsenal seem to deliver when expectations are lowered, but what happens when the expectations are high? The answer to that question may well hold the key to winning that Premier League title and ending the trophy draught for Wenger and his charges.

Half Season Performance Score: 8/10 
Best Player: Aaron Ramsey
Under performer: Santi Cazorla 
January Transfer Window: Need a striker to support Giroud. But who can Wenger buy that will do better than what he already has in Bendtner?

Aston Villa

Lambert needs to get more out of this side, a decent start but will need better results

Paul Lambert's side may have started the season off with a big win over Arsenal and also managed to beat Manchester City along the way, but it has been a disappointing season till now for Villa fans. In their last five games, the Villa faithful have seen their club succumb to defeat three times. In nine home games this season, Lambert's side has managed to collect only seven points out of twenty seven. 

They have been slightly better travellers though, having collected twelve points out of a possible twenty seven. Inconsistency has plagued a lot of teams this season and Villa have been one of them as well. One of the key reasons for the club's poor start could be directed towards their inability to keep the ball. According to Who scored, the club lies second in terms of Lowest pass rating(73.9%) and Lowest possession(42.4%) both of which are topped by Crystal Palace, a team which has found itself at the bottom of the table for most of the season. 

Benteke: Where have all the goals gone?

The club's top scorer last season has found goals hard to come by this season. Christian Benteke loss of goalscoring form has hampered the Villa side alot and the fans will hope he turns it around in the new year and that the Belgian is able to overcome the second season syndrome.

Not all has been bad for the club though. The manager has been able to bring a little bit of stability at the club. The club flirted with relegation last season and it will be a slow walk back up. Fabian Delph has been a sort of success story for the manager. Lambert would be looking for a finish closer to the top 10 this time rather than near the relegation zone and look to build this team further. 

Half Season Performance Score: 5/10
Best Player: Fabian Delph
Underperformer: Christian Benteke
January Transfer Window: Few creative additions in midfield and if possible some scoring boots for star man Benteke. 

Cardiff City

It hasn't been easy for Mackay, but he has been professional throughout

The first season in the Premier League for a promoted team is always a tricky one. For last season's Championship winner, Cardiff it has been a very topsy turvy season up till now. Things though stand to possibly turn for the worse, at the point of writing, with manager Malky Mackay's job on the line.

Mackay has done a good job with the squad he has and has the supporters backing for the job he has done. The club owner, Vincent Tan faced backlash for his e-mail to Mackay stating he either stand down or be sacked. Mackay managed to maintain his dignity stating he would not re-sign and since then thanks to support from the football fraternity as a whole along with the Cardiff supporters, Vincent Tan lifted the threat to fire the manager.

Considering all that Mackay seems to be facing internally, he must be applauded for having kept Cardiff out off the relegation zone till now and also garnering victories over Swansea, Manchester City and also managing a point against Manchester United and Everton. The Cardiff performance against United, was a typical performance of the club.

The club though will need to start scoring more goals in order to win games and ensure Premier League survival . With the uncertain nature of the league this season from top to bottom, any team that manages to maintain some sort of consistency in collecting points will be able to rise up the standings.

Mackay has done a wonderful job up to now. His professional approach has ensured he has been praised not only by his own supporters but also by the media and football in general. Now all he will hope for is the backing from the board and his owner in the January transfer window and guiding the club further away from relegation.

Half Season Performance Score: 6/10
Best Player: Steven Caulker
Underperformer: Peter Odemwingie
January Transfer Window: Strengthening in all 3 departments will be needed as Mackay has mentioned, but the question remains will the funds be available and will Mackay still be manager?

Chelsea

The return of the Special One, hasn't been so special yet

The season started off with Chelsea fans excited about alot of things. The return of the Special One, return of their loan players and uncertainty plaguing teams at the top around them. Chelsea were many pundits favourites along with Manchester City for the title this season.

It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for Jose Mourinho in his second coming as manager of Chelsea, but they remain in touch with the top without actually playing really well. The first thing that can be gathered from the first half of the season is, that this is not your typical Mourinho side yet. He is still moulding this team into his own team and that might well just take time. A simple look at the defensive records tell you how far this Chelsea side has to go compared to the Mourinho's Chelsea of 2004-5. The 04-05 side conceded the same amount of goals in a whole season that this current Chelsea side already has in less than half a season, and we all know Mourinho's hate of conceding goals.

The fact is and it was something that was pointed out during the transfer window as well by Chelsea fans, that the club may have stocked well on attacking midfielders and wingers, but failed to address issues upfront, in midfield and at the back.

Mourinho's lack of trust in Mata, has confused most Chelsea fans and everyone else as well. How a player who has been key to the club's success for the past two years could be thrust aside like Mata has been is difficult to understand.

Mata on the bench: A regular occurrence this season to the displeasure of many

Also his decision to loan out Lukaku instead of offering him regular game time is another decision that hasn't been a popular one. Especially considering his success at Everton compared to the strikers available to Chelsea currently.

The danger for rivals though should be the fact that without actually playing well, Mourinho's side has managed to stay near the top. What happens if they actually get into top gear? Arsenal, Liverpool are already playing at their best level. In recent weeks, Manchester City have also taken their game up one level. Now it will be interesting to see if Mourinho can get his side to raise their game up a level to make this seasons Premier League even more interesting and breathtaking.

Half Season Performance Score: 6.5/10
Best Player: John Terry
Underperformer: Ashley Cole
January Transfer Window:  A midfielder perhaps to add more energy in the middle of the park? 

What are your thoughts about the teams mentioned above? Do leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Stats courtesy: Whoscored

Note: This was written and posted before the sacking of the Cardiff City manager. 

Half Season Analysis Part 2 can be found HERE. 

Tottenham have got it wrong, just like they did in the summer... and views on the Champions League draw

Sell your best player. Spend more than 100 million, buying seven new players from different leagues. Then give your manager six months to get it working. Welcome to modern football, where time is a commodity which is priceless for managers today.

 Tottenham currently lie sixth in the table, eight points off the top and more realistically five points from the top four. They have qualified for the Round of 32 in  the Europa League and are in the quarter finals of the Carling Cup.  Almost midway into the season and the Spurs board believed that this wasn't good enough and decided to give AVB, the sack. The board, I believe has got this wrong.

Buying seven players and losing your best player from last season, is not the ideal way to begin a new season. As Sunderland have shown in the past two seasons, buying a whole new squad(well almost) doesn't necessarily help the club move forward and infact could pull the club down. Integrating so many new players into the style you want them to play, while they are already trying to settle down in a new league, possibly in a new country and for some like Erik Lamela, trying to learn a new language as well, it is hard to get a team playing as a cohesive unit instantly. As the saying goes, too much of anything isn't good and so has been the case here.

The correct way to have gone about things, would probably have been to give AVB atleast till the end of this season. Then analyse and see where to go from there. Sacking him in the middle of the season is a big mistake and continues to underline the impatience of not only fans but the top management in today's time.
The below picture gives an even more clearer picture of the situation in the Premier League.

 Picture Credit: sportingintelligence.com

It does seem that the two big defeats against Manchester City(away) and Liverpool more recently(home) was what really got AVB the sack. A little more patience would certainly help though. But buying seven players and hoping they would start with a bang was a mistake and similarly sacking AVB was another. The only way Daniel Levy and co, could come out of this mess would now be to do what Southampton did last winter, and find their own Mauricio Pochettino from somewhere. AVB though could leave with a solace of knowing that he goes with the highest win % of any Spurs Premier League manager.

Picture Courtesy: 101greatgoals.com

Champions League Draw Reaction

The draw for the Round of 16 was held today and the result was some really exciting games to look forward to when the Champions League will make its return in February.

The two games to look forward to are obvious. While the focus has been on how the two English clubs have been dealt a tough draw, one should note that Barcelona and Munich would themselves would've certainly preferred a simple tie. Those two would also not be jumping with joy having draw the English teams.

Manchester City vs Barcelona, is this season's version of Manchester United vs Real Madrid.  

Both of the teams have an enviable line-up of attackers while at the same time frailties in defence that need looking at. Barcelona it could be said are weaker at the back compared to City, who've got Kompany and Nastasic to call on when everybody is fit. Though a certain  little Argentinian in the Barcelona side is enough to cover any frailties that Barcelona may have. Infact it will be the clash of Aguero and Messi that will be most intriguing with both set to line-up together in the World Cup. Neymar, Negredo, Iniesta, Silva will be other key players for both the sides in attack. Also, it will be a return for Yaya Toure to his old club, and he will be looking for a win. 

The other exciting game in this round will involve another English club, when Arsenal once again face Bayern Munich. Both teams have seen changes at their clubs since the last time they met. Arsenal currently hold a slender lead at the top of the table, whereas Bayern have undergone certain tactical changes in their playing style under Pep Guardiola. Pep had a good time facing Arsene Wenger when he was the manager at Arsenal, and will be hoping that run can continue. The Arsenal manager though, would love to beat Bayern over the two legs(instead of just one) and continue proving that this Arsenal squad does have what it takes to win titles. 

Didier Drogba will be returning to his past kingdom, when he makes his grand return to Stamford Bridge with Galatassaray to face his old master, Jose Mourinho and the new Chelsea. It will be an interesting tie as it also sees Mourinho face Mancini, the man he replaced at Inter and also Sneijder who was key to Mourinho's treble winning season with the Inter Milan side. 

AC Milan vs Athletico Madrid will be an interesting tie to look forward to while PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund will all be expected to reach the quarters.

Lot can obviously change over the two months with injuries, form, etc but here are my predictions for who will be still standing when the draw for the Quarters is held:

1. Barcelona
2. Manchester United
3. Athletico Madrid

4. Paris Saint-Germain
5. Chelsea
6. Real Madrid
7. Borussia Dortmund
8. Bayern Munich.

So what are your early predictions for the Champions League? Make sure to tell me what your predictions are in the comments section below. 

Also one more thing, yesterday was a special night for one footballer who has been fighting a very rare disease for what has been almost two years. The moment when Darren Fletcher was subbed in by David Moyes, it was a moment to savour for every United fan and he was rightly applauded on. Here's hoping Fletcher can slowly recover some of his old form and return to the same old Fletcher that the United faithful were used to seeing before he was struck down with the disease. Welcome back Darren Fletcher, Football Genius.

"Today was my re-debut. I replaced my first idol (Beckham) back then and I replaced my other idol (Giggs) today"- Darren Fletcher.