A Brazilian Midfielder Who Is MUCH Better Than Kleberson...

So Manchester United surged to the top of the Premier League on Monday evening with another strong display against a strangely subdued Arsenal side.

The formations set out by both managers meant that the midfield was overloaded with players and therefore stray passes and loss of possession became surprisingly commonplace.

I think that one player's performance however, did not receive the praise it deserved. Former Porto star Anderson has had peaks and troughs during his fledgling United career, yet he seems to be returning the level he showed when he first walked out at Old Trafford.

I remember (rather fondly) that he dominated Steven Gerrard in an encounter with Liverpool at Anfield in his first season, a 1-0 win the result for United.

Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira (to be prudent) impressed during his first campaign, he lifted the Premier League and Champions League at the end of that season(2007/08) but then seemed to stutter.

A serious knee injury, coupled with rumours of unrest and misdemeanours, meant that he was in and out of the team. His comeback has seen him fill a gap in the United midfield engine room and his box-to-box approach was evident against both Valencia and Arsenal, scoring his first Old Trafford goal against the former.

He must now kick on and become the player Sir Alex thought he was buying when he splashed out 30million Euro on a teenage sensation. He needs to provide more goals from his position, but other than that he is adept at passing both over short and long range, and certainly doesn't mind the rough of tumble of a scrappy Premier League game.

Time to build on those performances, starting at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (if he plays of course, although he probably should given recent performances) and he may establish himself as a first team regular for the first time since coming to England. He must certainly be above the out-of-sorts Michael Carrick in the pecking order, and with Owen Hargreaves STILL injured and Paul Scholes not able to play every minute of every game, he won't get a better chance to hold down a first team berth.

He could be important to United for many years to come, it is really dependent on his own progression and growth both on and off of the pitch. He seems to have started to do so with the news today that he has signed a new, long-term deal with United.


rec2rec

Introducing the FIFA Ballon D'Or Barcelona Player of the Year 2010...

There is no great surprise in the fact that Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta - all of Barcelona - have been shortlisted for the newly-amalgamated FIFA Ballon D'Or award. Fair play to the footballing magicians, they have been on top of their games for the last 18 months or so.

But a few other thoughts popped into my head when I first saw the news. Firstly, how glad must Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas be that he is still based in North London rather than Catalonia? He has struggled with a couple of niggling injuries this season, but if he is fit he is in the Gunners' starting line-up and remains the fulcrum of all of their play. This wouldn't have been the case at Barcelona now would it?

You could argue he is good enough to break into the magical Camp Nou midfield, but he isn't. Even if Barcelona had splashed tens of millions on their prodigal son he still would have been warming the bench. Case in point: Javier Mascherano. The ex-Liverpool defensive midfielder has often been labelled as the best player in the world in his position, he then signed for Barca for £21 million and is very much a squad player. Did he expect that? If he didn't he should have done.

The other thought I had on the shortlist was, where are the Inter Milan stars? Those players who guided their club to an unprecedented treble last season under the stewardship of one Jose Mourinho? I would have liked to have seen a Wesley Sneijder or Diego Milito included on the list.

My vote would go to Andreas Iniesta, a player who has been fantastic for years and has only just started receiving the recognition he deserves. Xavi is also deserving, as is Messi but these two, especially the latter seem an easier, 'softer' choice.


paddle board 

Dobro pozhalovatʹ Russia 2018. England: Stop The Cavalry

The title of this blog says it all (hopefully I haven't offended any Russian fans of my blog with Google-translated salutations!) The rest is a self-indulgent Christmas reference, but really hits the nail on the England-bid head.

Russia will host the 2018 World Cup. Not England. Our bid was not even close.

As David Beckham correctly assessed we COULD 'host the World Cup tomorrow.' True, but no-one WANTS us to.

England is still the nasty neighbour of the rest of Europe, and sneered at by the rest of the World. BBC documentaries and recent crowd troubles in the 'Second City' probably didn't help either.

Sending the 'cavalry' of Becks, PM and Prince Wills didn't help and in the grand scheme of things could have hindered our bid.

A small leak of desperation crept into the impassioned statements by both Davids - Beckham and Cameron - we should have just sent Nick Clegg, Prince Naseem and David Batty.

Our infrastructure is fantastic, stadia second-to-none but sadly our external relations and financial clout leave a lot to be desired. Sepp Blatter's personal ambition to change the footballing world under his leadership also led to a decision to host a World Cup behind the old 'Iron Curtain' for the first time. And the 2022 will be in Qatar, well oil be damned!

One day myself, my generation, may witness a World Cup on these shores, but it is our politics and appearance on the world stage which must be altered before that can happen, until then we can only watch as Russia put on a fantastic event in the summer of 2018.


adult sex toys 

ADVENT SPECIAL - Following The Crowd: THE RESULTS

I'd like to reveal our very own CHRISTMAS XI:

Roy CAROL - Ricci

Michael BAUBLE - Fez
Ricardo CARVALHO-HO-HO - Ricci
Ledley KING - Edward
Dani ELVES - LUFCHERO

Evander SNO - Jonesy
Jason EUELL - Me
GABRIEL Agbonlahor - Edward

Juan Pablo ANGEL - Liam
Ruud van MISTLETOE-rooy - Jonesy
Roque SANTA Cruz - Ricci

And the answer to the brain teaser which was correctly answered (or googled) by LUFCHERO was:

Which player has played in the Merseyside derby, North London derby, Milan derby, Munich derby and the North-East derby? CHRISTIAN ZIEGE

Wenger Was Right, This Is The Closest Title Race For Years...But Why?

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, trying to stave off questions about his side's defeat at the hands of Tottenham, claimed that the Premier League title race is more open than ever this season. But he didn't go into the reasons behind his claims.

So I have done it for him.

Please, if you would be so kind, read the following list: Fabio Da Silva, Ross Turnbull, Tiago Bebe, Patrick Van Aanholt, Wojciech Szczesny, Jeffrey Bruma, Chris Smalling and Johan Djourou.

I'm sure you'd agree that this list of Premier League footballers would be unfamiliar to less ardent fans, maybe even relative unknowns to their own supporters.

But the names listed were all substitutes for Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal - currently the top three teams in the table - in recent weeks.

Now, in the hope that I'm not boring you to death with Chris Evans-style lists, please check out another one for me: Martin Keown, Hernan Crespo, Dimitar Berbatov, Ray Parlour, Ji-Sung Park, Damian Duff, Gary Neville and Carlo Cudicini.

Now this list of distinguished international and world class players is a sample of the names of substitutes during recent Premier League winning campaigns for the 'big three.'

Obviously injuries have to be taken into account, and even 'innovative' 25-man squad quota can be argued as reasons to this phenomenon of lack of depth. But there must be something else.

For starters all of the names on the former list were named when only five substitutes were allowed. Upping that number to seven gave manager's scope to include not only youth, but other quality players in their match day squads, but this hasn't worked and there have even been examples of clubs not being able to name a full bench.

Could the main reason be, however, that the Premier League is no longer 'the place to be?' La Liga, Serie A and even the Bundesliga have taken giant strides to catching up, and in some cases overtaking, the Premier League in terms of entertainment and value for money.

After English teams dominated the latter stages of the Champions League for four or five years we appear to be losing out to our continental counterparts once more. Would the likes of Dimitar Berbatov and Hernan Crespo be happy warming their behinds on benches up and down the country week in, week out? No. But look at the squads of Europe's major clubs. In Real Madrid's recent 5-1 demolition of Athletico Bilbao their substitutes included the likes of superstar striker Karim Benzema, multi-million euro-rated defender Raul Albiol and the sort after Lassana Diarra. Need I say more?

The Premier League has lost what one of its biggest former stars would call its 'Va Va Voom.' It is going to be difficult to turn that around with the current financial situations for most clubs, coupled with the drive from the FA and UEFA for more home-grown 'talent' to emerge.

Arsene Wenger's claim that the title race really will be the closest since he first stepped into his managerial boots in North London will probably proved to be correct. Sadly however it is due to a drop in standards, rather than improvements.


study in australia 

What Ancelotti's Main Reason For Leaving Stamford Bridge Would Be

When the news first broke yesterday that Carlo Ancelotti had offered the Chelsea board his resignation I have to admit I wasn't completely shocked. They have of course, since be quashed. But would it have been really unexpected?

Sure, he achieved unparalleled success during his first season at the Stamford Bridge helm. His side even sit atop the Premier League table as I write, even though they have lost three out of their last four league matches.

But yet again it appears to be the meddling of Chelsea's big players behind the scenes who are making Ancelotti's life more difficult than it should be at the moment.

On the field he has problems. His side have scored only once in the league during November, and with John Terry and Frank Lampard topping an injury list full of stars the winter months could be as dark and depressing for Chelsea FC as they will be for the nation as a whole.

But Roman Abramovich has a problem; he is too involved in the day-to-day running of the club. This may seem an odd statement to make about a man who has invested his own personal millions into the London club and seen quite a healthy return of trophies to boot.

But think for a moment.

The majority of Manchester United fans currently sport their green and gold 'anti-Glazer' paraphernalia at any given opportunity, and Liverpool's followers were instrumental in the removing of Hicks and Gillett. Now I'm not condoning how these Americans have forced the two greatest football teams on our shores into debt and a certain level of self-destruction, but neither group of 'Yanks' got as involved in first team affairs as Abramovich has done at the Bridge.

Jose Mourinho, one of the top three managers in world football, left the club after his relationship with his boss soured due to Abramovich's desire to add Avram Grant to the backroom set-up.

Then Grant himself was dislodged as manager despite leading the team to within a penalty kick of their maiden European Cup. Scolari was sacked after being given minimal support and his replacement Guus Hiddink could not be convinced to stay.

It was the aforementioned Luis Scolari who brought Ray Wilkins back into the Chelsea family where his coaching prowess shone. He was labelled by Ancelotti as 'vital' to the Blues' Premier League title success last season, but has now been ousted unceremoniously by the powers-that-be.

If Abramovich wants to 'suggest' to his managers who they should sign, or who they should have working for them, that seems fair enough. But to shoulder his managers with his own ideas and then blame them if trophies aren't delivered is not football. He strong-armed Mourinho into incorporating Andrei Shevchenko into his side, and look how that worked out.

If Ancelotti walked away tomorrow the fans would be losing unquestionably their greatest manager since the 'Special One' and the blame would lie squarely at the door of the man who made all of their recent success possible in the first place.


glass ceiling
 

Why Do Arsene's Latest Breed Keep Losing Their Bite?

The term 'false dawn' has been bandied around lately in the wake of apparent recoveries from the ongoing financial crisis. We are being warned that the 'credit crunch' is still evident and any improvement is an example of the aforementioned false dawn.

The phrase could, and arguably should, also be applied to Arsenal Football Club at present. For the last two or three seasons, including the current campaign, the Gunners have looked impressive during the early stages, made silly errors and had some poor results, before fading away out of the title picture way before 'squeaky bum time.'

Losing at home to their nearest neighbours today, for the first time in well over a decade speaks volumes. Even more so when you consider they were 2-0 ahead and cruising at the interval.

I have a close friend who is a staunch Arsenal supporter, and he will back them to the hilt. He cannot explain the situation and left me a raving voicemail after today's results. It was certainly a missed opportunity for Arsene Wenger's men, a win would have temporarily put them top of the pile and given Chelsea's failure at St. Andrews, they would have stayed there.

What is to blame for their issues? Can we still claim that Arsenal are a side full of youngsters who will soon blossom into world beaters? I doubt anyone would claim the likes of Denilson will ever be on a shortlist for the Ballon D'or.

Arsenal will still be there or thereabouts come May, but if they cannot find the reason behind their slumps in form, their constant defensive errors and goalkeeping crises they will still fall short of Manchester United and Chelsea who, despite the odd slip-up or poor run of form, still set the benchmark for the closest things to Premier League perfection. Yet let us not forget it was Wenger's Arsenal who achieved such perfection in their 'Unbeatables' season, which for players, staff, management but most importantly the fans, must seem like a lifetime ago.


bali accommodation 

Why England Should Always Miss Out In 'Club v Country' Rows

Yesterday I wrongly predicted that the England v France friendly would be a dead-rubber. Instead it was a damning verdict on England without key individuals. It could be argued that any country would miss the talents of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney (despite his dip in form).

The biggest talking point following the game was arguably the injury sustained by vice-captain Steven Gerrard as he chased back vehemently in the closing stages of the encounter. It was revealed today that he stands to miss a month of Liverpool's season, just at a time when it appears he is leading the overhaul of their poor start to the campaign.

It raises the question of club v country, which had already been dragged kicking and screaming back onto the back pages following the announcement of John Terry's injury situation.

Yesterday 'The Sun' claimed: 'Fabio Capello feels John Terry has put Chelsea before his country. The England boss said: "He didn't play for us this season because he wasn't completely fit. He preferred not to play so he could be fit for his club. He played many games with injections."

Hard-hitting words from the Italian, but arguably, very fair. However he was happy to remove his skipper Rio Ferdinand at half time last night, surely hoping to avoid the wrath of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

But if Terry has picked club over country, so what?

It has to be said that I very rarely agree with any words that leave Terry's lips, but if he were to state that he did indeed prefer to turn out for Chelsea rather than England I would applaud him.

Each and every game in the Premier League is a must-win if his team are to retain the title whilst an England friendly against France - which could easily have been a David Beckham tribute act if Capello had his way - is a non-event.

Terry, Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard and all of the other names associated with England should pick club over country. They have two years until their next chance for glory with England, and what are the chances of that success coming to fruition?

Whereas success at club level is not only more impending, but also more likely. I'm also sure that those fans who persistently mention that "they're all too bloody overpaid" would be happy to mention it is the club's who pay their wages.

England should take priority at the end of seasons leading into major championships in the slender hope that we can 'banish the ghosts of 1966' but until such times the players should always but club over country, head over heart.


insure4less 

Should The FA Be Yellow Carded For Time Wasting?

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." This is a quote from the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, but it could also be applied to the Italian football manager Fabio Capello in his quest to sculpt a world-beating England team.

The old argument has been running for season upon season, are International friendlies in the middle of season actually a help or hindrance to our national side?

This time however the argument takes on a slightly different angle, given the number of eyebrow-raising selections in the squad. Many football fans, myself included, used to insist that such friendlies should be used as a trial for players who have impressed for their clubs, not a run-out for the tried (or should that be tired?) and tested players and formations.

This time however there have been questions asked as to why the likes of Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd has made the cut. Surely the bigger talking point is why has goal-shy West Ham forward Carlton Cole been called up?

Bothroyd may play in a lower league, and he may not be a young precocious talent who can be moulded into the type of player England require him to be. But the facts are clear. He has scored over a dozen more goals than Cole and his form, at any level, has been scintillating.

Now we could hark back to Dave Nugent's one cap as a Championship player, or even the glaring omission of Bolton skipper Kevin Davies as examples of strikers who have tried and failed on the international stage. But who has the right to say ex-Arsenal youngster Bothroyd will be one of them until we have seen him playing with the three lions emblazoned across his chest?

The friendly tonight will be a dead-rubber, will be hyped-up as much as possible by Adrian 'Daybreak' Chiles on ITV but condemned as a waste of time by the morning's news outlets. But compared to friendlies involving all of the household names from here and abroad which have also left a bad taste in the mouth, at least there is a chance that tonight's encounter will not be a waste of time as, like Rodin suggested, Fabio Capello gains vital experience and knowledge from it.


conveyancing fees