Great Expectations

It is time for the Golden Generation to fulfill the expectations of the nation. And I refer not to the Portuguese. This afternoons clash in Gelsenkirchen, home of Schalke 04, casts the the underachievers of England against the nearly men of Portugal.

The Portuguese have at least delivered partially. Two FIFA World Youth Championships were followed by the 2004 European Championships Final defeat by Greece. England on the other hand, have been talking the talk since Japan / Korea 2002 and never threatened to deliver. Today is the day when that must change. Eriksson is desperate to go out on a high, knowing that his reputation and bank balance would seriously enhanced by getting England to their first final in forty years. Small matter of winning today and then on Wednesday aside, this is his last chance. Also, I would hope that he wants to be able to shove a middle finger in the direction of media hacks who have harrassed him during his reign. However to do that, his charges must play considerably better than anything shown previously in this tournament as I doubt that the Iberians will allow them a moments peace on the pitch. Whilst Ronaldo would be the obvious target for the English, Rooney is equally combustible and with a considerably shorter fuse.

The managers could not be more opposite. Eriksson, passionless and passive on the bench, whilst Scholari is animated, exhorting his troops to greater heights, continually "at" the officials chivvying them, trying to influence their thinking in his favour. He has a remarkable record of eleven straight World Cup wins and the perfect opportunity to show the FA what a complete balls up of the recruitment process for the next England manager they made. I still cannot understand the haste in replacing the Swede, Barwick hell-bent on a quick solution which he can now regret at his leisure.

The first semi final is to be between Italy and Germany, a repeat of the 1982 Final but I would prefer a match that equalled the 1970 semi-final, Italy victorious 4 - 3 after extra time. The hosts won a tense match against Argentina, Jens Lehmann the hero with two saves in the penalty shootout. This could have been avoided if Ballack had planted his header into the net in the first half rather than a couple of yards wide of the post. However, the abiding memory will be of the bust-up at the end of the match with the Argentineans exploding with frustration. Cufre was sent off and several others punching and kicking their way into International Bans. Maxi Rodriguez is photographed attempting to bitch-slap Schweinsteiger from behind, something that would leave the South American requiring several weeks of hospital treatment if he had tried that on the streets of most towns, cities and villages around the world. Pekerman cocked up his substitutions by bringing off Riquelme and replacing him with a defensive midfielder rather than Messi, leaving the Argentine forward line stranded without a creative force in the middle of the pitch. An injury to Abondizierri meant he was replaced by Leo Franco of Atletico Madrid, his first task should have been to at least defend his goal against a freekick chipped into the six yard box, instead he nearly strained his neck watching Schweinsteiger's shot sail about twenty feet over the bar. In the end though, a typically well taken Klose header forced an additional thirty minutes and the shootout. Italy meanwhile cruised through against an uninspiringly dull Ukraine, who if England are negative, then I dread to think what Blatter thinks of them. Absolutely abysmal, conceding an early goal would normally bring a team out of it's shell whereas the Ukranians were intent of just keeping the score down. The match ended with two second half goals in a five minute spell just after the hour mark. Perhaps someone can explain why talented players make for dour managers; George Graham's Arsenal were the antithesis of his playing style whilst Blokhins Ukraine bear no resemblance to his career. Yes, I know that the players at their disposal may not be as talented as when the managers were themselves competing on the pitch but surely the desire to win must be coupled with winning in style - one of the reasons why Chelsea are not the much admired team they ought to be.

In describing Sepp Blatter, it has been said that he has 100 bad ideas every day. Personally, I like to think that if he had an original thought it would die of loneliness. His most recent utterances were to criticise England for being negative through playing only one forward. This despite the fact that no other midfield at the World Cup has scored more goals domestically. However, more worringly, every day proves more and more how little Blatter actually knows about the game despite being involved all his life and for the last thirty years at the highest level in the Ruling Body. It is testament to his political skills that he has managed to avoid being called to order over the various allegations made by his colleagues and journalists although his style would probably be more akin to Don Corleone, offers cannot be refused. At least his organisation got one thing right this week; Arsenal cleared by FIFA of any wrongdoing over the Beveren "non-affair". As of yet, Newsnight have not commented, perhaps for fear of being made to look even more stupid than they already are. Despite denials, it still reeks of a Spurs fan trying to get his team to Europe's top table, something the team were not able to achieve on the pitch.

Todays Tunes are from REM, In The Attic, a bootleg of alternative recordings from 1985 - 1989.

The tracklisting is:

Finest Worksong / Driver 8 / Gardening At Night / Swan Swan H / Disturbance At The Heron House / Maps And Legends / Tired Of Singing Trouble / Just A Touch / Toys In The Attic / All I Have To Do Is Dream / The One I Love / Crazy / Can't Get There From Here / Last Date / Time After Time (Medley)

Download here

Football Cliche No. 426: A Good Old Head Will Always Beat A Young 'Un

The Second Round over, a few days rest before the Quarter Finals kick in, with kick-offs moved to an eminently better time for those of us that do not get out of the office until around four during the week. I was running seriously low on excuses to work from home without coming outright and saying that I just wanted to watch the football.

Last nights’ clash between France and Spain was an intriguing match. The Spaniards went into the game having overpowered the Ukraine and dominated the Tunisians, putting themselves into the frame for the competition with a real chance to shake off the tag of “Perennial Underachievers”. France on the other hand had been pretty awful for most of the Group phase, only coming to life when they had to beat Togo and even then, progress was still out of their hands to a large extent. Much was made of the youthfulness of Spain compared to the old heads of France and yet experience shone through. Spain were a real disappointment and should be disappointed in themselves. Why Aragones put Raul up front when his performances for club and country have been lacklustre for more than eighteen months is something only the coach will know. The midfield was packed with three very similar players in Xavi, Xavi Alonso and Fabregas. All are sound passers of the ball but they hold similar ground on the pitch, requiring the full backs to get forward to penetrate the flanks something that they could not do with enough regularity last night as both Malouda and Ribery have enough pace to exploit the gaps that would have been left. The way the Spanish team set themselves, it was obvious from the start that they were more obsessed with not conceding rather than scoring two or more to win the game. Whether this was out of respect for the opposition or out of fear, I am not sure. Certainly for a team that was undefeated in twenty four games, it was an unusual tactic. Surely such a run should have filled them with the confidence and belief they needed to win a competitive match against France for the first time.

As it turned out, France thoroughly deserved their win. They showed more sharpness in attack, created more chances than the Spaniards, fought hard in midfield and defended well. Henry was out of sorts, isolated by the slowness of the build-up play and the Spanish defence defending higher up the pitch than most other nations. The most significant contribution he made was being bodychecked by Puyol for the freekick that led to Vieira’s goal. His reaction to the foul was unnecessary, borne of frustration at his own performance and a need for revenge against the centre half. Neither is an excuse for his theatrics which have been preceded by a huge amount of diving and rolling around by other players on the pitch in previous matches and will no doubt being followed by more in the Quarter Finals and beyond.

It sets up the Quarter Final meeting with Brazil nicely, who cruised through their tie against Ghana. Perhaps the Africans will learn the lesson that conceding a goal in the fifth minute against Brazil makes a hard job extremely difficult. Rolly Polly Ronnie became the highest scorer in World Cup history but his fitness will need to increase for the coming match(es). Unless of course, the Brazilians intend to shoot the ball into his gut and hope that the ripple effect will propel the ball into the net? Roberto Carlos meanwhile displayed the required abilities to become a key player for Chelsea next season, i.e. gracelessness and a complete absence of charm. The arrogance he displayed in denigrating Ghana makes one hope that he gets his comeuppance in the next round. Perhaps an own goal that knocks his country out is what is needed to make him realise the privileged position he is in?

England face up to their nemesis (© every lazy journalist in England) in Gene Hackman when they meet Portugal in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday. It appears that England’s injury woes are finally starting to ease with the news that Gary Neville Neville is returning from his spell in the treatment room. With that in mind, I expect England to once again line – up in a 4-5-1 formation, despite the limitations that were exposed against Ecuador. The team will probably be:

Robinson; Neville, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole; Beckham, Lampard, Hargreaves, Gerrard, Cole; Rooney

The only question will be if Hargreaves replaces Carrick which I think will happen given that the one man United Nations played well in that position against Sweden. Carrick did nothing wrong against Ecuador but Eriksson seems to rate Hargreaves.

The key to winning will be making sure that the defence act as a unit and the midfield track back. If they do not then as the Dutch found out, Deco is not the most dangerous Portuguese midfielder. Ronaldo now expects to be fit but both Coles and Neville are familiar with his one trick which should be enough to keep the Madrid-bound Pony in check.

Todays Tunes come from Oasis, their gig at Earls Court in 1995 providing:

Acquiesce

Rock ‘n’ Roll Star

Lets Do The Zidane Again

“God Only Knows” proclaimed the Beach Boys which in a slightly different context is exactly what most people feel about the England team. Nobody can quite work out how we’ve got this far playing so badly and stand a good chance of reaching the Semi Finals with Portugal seeming as though they will be missing one third of their team, Deco and Costinha definitely out, Ronaldo doubtful and if Luis Figo is not suspended then FIFA may as well shut up shop because they would be even more of a joke than we already think they are.

It is impossible to know if Eriksson is lucky or a complete Charlatan. The tactical nous that he was supposedly hired to bring to the England team has been conspicuous by its absence during his reign, save for the 5 – 1 thrashing in Munich. Certainly during the first half of the Ecuador match, he got away with it. If Ashley Cole had not proven his match fitness with a last ditch intervention, we would probably not be looking forward to Gelsenkirchen on Saturday. Beckham was anonymous for most of the time he was on the pitch, his contributions being the goal and a quick puke on the pitch. England were held together by Rooney’s determination, Carrick quiet diligence and Gerrard’s endeavour. For the second half, things improved but I still cannot believe Beckham’s free-kick hit the back of the net nor I suspect can Mora in the Ecuadorean goal. The defence looked nervous again and I believe that part of this is explained by Robinson’s inability to command his area. For someone who has been consistent for a number of seasons, the Yorkshireman has picked a plum time to display the jitters that cost David James his Number One spot. Let us pray that the Tottenham ‘keeper improves and quickly. In midfield, Lampard needs to be more judicious in his choices about when to shoot or pass. It speaks volumes for his performances that he is the top of the list of shots on goal and has yet to hit the back of the net. It is starting to reach Jensen-esque proportions. All this will be forgiven and forgotten if he scores the winner on Saturday.

Eriksson’s constant reminders of the Golden Generation of English footballers are proving to be shallow. All of the other Quarter Finalists are at a higher performance level than his charges and of those to still qualify, only Australia have shown less skill levels, having battered their way through the Group phase.

But it is not all doom and gloom. Germany seem to be the form team so far in terms of consistency. However, their opponents have on the whole rolled over and begged to be beaten. This will not be the case for the Argentina match. However, as Mexico proved, the Argentines are not the “Invincibles” that certainly the English media portrayed them to be. Mexico were unlucky to lose, Heinze should have walked for his cynical foul in the first half. Germany will have noted the Mexican tactics and will no doubt re-employ them to a degree. This will be a tough match to win for the hosts but I have a feeling that they may just do it, bringing to an end their abysmal run of results against the top nations.

The Dutch meanwhile are on their way home, contriving to lose a match that they should have won. Four players off, and another thirteen receiving a yellow, this one will rival the Battles of Berne in 1954 and Santiago in 1962 in the annals (or should that be anals?) of World Cup notoriety. If Graham Poll is on the first flight out of Germany this week, Ivanov will not be too far behind. Deco and Costinha deserved to go for their moronic choices, Boulahrouz was correctly booked twice whilst the second for van Bronckhorst was unlucky but given the referees performance, it was entirely expected. Van Persie has given Wenger food for thought. Without doubt he was the star player this tournament for the Dutch. His wide play was exemplary and although he may need some more maturity before he makes consistently the right choices, he is in my book, ahead of Reyes for the left wing spot at Highbury. Kuijt would struggle in the English game if he continues to throw himself with such gusto. Indeed, if he had put as much effort into putting the ball into the net, he would not be heading home so early. And Robben? Well, none of his antics were a shock, continuing on his dubious methods from last season.

Current Transfer targets have changed if the papers and various rumour sites are to be believed. Apparently Hatem Trabelsi has been offered a contract by the club. Whilst I am not convinced that he is needed, I can see where the story has come from. Lauren is supposedly not going to be fit for the start of the season and / or going to Sevilla. Gilbert is considered to need to go on loan to gain experience. This would leave Hoyte as cover for Eboue and whilst he did reasonably well at Sunderland, he may need another season to fully come into the first team. Yaya Toure is apparently happy at Olympiakos which is a surprise as last week he had not been paid for six months and was angling for a move back to the Ukraine. However he still wants a transfer to Arsenal. Appiah is another midfielder that is heavily linked with the club – all of a sudden we have money to spend and everyman and their whippet are going to be gracing the turf at Ashburton Grove.

The one that surprised me to some degree is the media story that Arsenal have already contacted Juventus about Buffon. Now I don’t believe that the club have approached them for one minute but it is the kind of signing we need – Lehmann has played well in the World Cup and for last season but age is against him. A good quality youngster for one season as a reserve or someone to replace him now is required. I suspect that he will retire at the end of 2007 / 08 if he is still Germany’s Number One or maybe at the end of the new season if he is not. However, top priority is a central defender. The club cannot hope to muddle their way through next season, relying solely on Djourou, Senderos and Toure to fill the centre of defence. As 2005 / 06 proved, cover needs to run deep in the squad. I still think that Wenger will bring in another three or four players, Curtis Davies is consistently linked with a move to Arsenal but I have not been totally convinced by him. More likely, I think the transfer market will quieten down until the punishments for The Italian Job are meted out. Then there could well be a mad scramble for the players. If the punishments are handed down as expected on July 9th, teams have 21 days to sign and process the paperwork before the International Transfer Window closes on July 31st.

Todays Tunes are a trio of Cover Versions, courtesy of Wellerworld.

Billy Bragg - That's Entertainment

Graham Coxon - Billy Hunt

Eliza McCarthy - Wildwood