The Round Football Column 04.27.07: 92nd Edition
Posted by on 04.27.2007
Kaka is a genius, Rooney finally picks it up on the big stage, Lampard is an unbelievable footballer, PFA awards, plus more. One Click Away.
Okay, so Lampard isn't an "unbelievable footballer", but it's just a teaser people.
A random time for this column, but still, let's get to it:
Two English starlets shine in the Champions League semis
I'm not sure if Joe Cole can be called a "starlet" anymore, but hey, it's only a technicality. Two absorbing first legs, for very different reasons.
Manchester United 3 AC Meeeeeeeeeelan 2
This was a weird one. The euphoria surrounding Rooney's stoppage time winner was so huge that it nearly clouded the fact that this was still a decent result for AC. Once the dust settled, even United fans must have appreciated that. It's strange to praise a defender who conceded three goals, but for the most part, we saw the Nesta of old on Tuesday night. The Italian defender has been somewhat overshadowed by Cannavaro's one month of quality in Germany and Barzagli's rise to prominence with Palermo. However, in one-on-one scenarios, Nesta shone, and Rooney's second half antics seemed to negate a first half for which he was outclassed.
The tabloid media can wax lyrical over Rooney all they want, but ask any top class goalkeeper about United's treble and they would say the goals should have been saved. The first two, in particular, were just terrible attempts by Dida, and Carlo Ancelotti will surely be looking to replace the wayward Brazilian in the summer. You can almost afford to let Rooney have his moment for the winner, but even then you have to question Dida's positioning in getting beaten from twenty-yards at his near post.
Having said that, United did superbly to come back into a game they had no right to be in after Kaka's majestic brace. His first was a superb finish, whilst his second made Evra and Heinze look like the Chuckle brothers. Although the United defenders have received stick for the Brazilian's second, Kaka's little nudge header was just sublime. Insanely intelligent and composed, and a goal that made Scholes' pass of the season, for the equaliser, only make the number two spot for moment of the night.
The second leg next Wednesday will be very interesting, and Milan will need a lot more from Gilardino up top. The lone striker role is a tricky one to negotiate, but he was still beyond inadequate at Old Trafford, and as shown when the Brilliant Brazilian faded out of the game at the sixty-minute mark, they can't just rely on Kaka to provide goals that they will so clearly need at the San Siro.
Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0
This couldn't have been any different than the Tuesday game. This was a true chess match, and Mourinho should have been saying, "check mate" by the end.
It was truly a shame to see such a promising Liverpool side perform so inadequately at Stamford Bridge. In all competitions, they had never scored at the home of Chelsea under Benitez, but after the display at Camp Nou and the drubbing of PSV, a lot of people thought this could be the time to break the jinx. However, it wasn't to be, and against a superbly organised Chelsea back line, they were found out. It was clear that from the midfield onwards, they only have one star, and it was no surprise to see their one moment of genuine attacking spontaneity come from Stevie Gerrard.
Kuyt has garnered a ton of praise for his work-rate and intelligence this season, and rightly so, but as a match-winning striker he has a long way to go. Bellamy was outrageously out of his depth against a world class backline. Zenden forgot that he was supposed to be playing as a winger. Alonso and Maschereno were surprisingly slow in picking up the runners at times. It was simply not good enough. They should have started with Crouch and Pennant, and penetrated the wings more. Pennant's clear improvement with his wide distribution should have given him a starting birth, but instead they played far narrower, against a trio of Terry, Carvalho and Makalele that seemed comfortable throughout.
Despite the disappointing lack of verve from Liverpool, it must be said that Chelsea were very, very good indeed. They were stronger pretty much all over the field, and despite one of the best young defenders in the world (supposedly) failing to handle Drogba sufficiently, their goal was really well worked. A couple of good positional runs and shots from Lampard forced good saves from Reina, and in truth, the way they played for the majority, Liverpool will be happy to have left London with only a one-goal deficit going into the Anfield leg. Pool's ball retention was much improved in the second half, but it meant little without any attacking dynamism ..something they will need to improve upon this Tuesday.
PFA Awards
The annual awards were announced this past Sunday, and in the main awards there were no surprises.
PFA Player of the Year
1st Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
2nd Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
3rd Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
A totally correct top three, in terms of who was nominated, although Essien should feel hard done by.
PFA Young Player of the Year
1st Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
2nd Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
3rd Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)
Again, little argument at the winner and runners-up.
PFA Premiership Team of the Year
GK - Edwin Van Der Sar (Manchester United) RB - Gary Neville (Manchester United) LB - Patrice Evra (Manchester United) CB - Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United) CB - Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) RM - Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) LM - Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) CM - Paul Scholes (Manchester United) CM - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) ST - Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) ST - Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Now, this did raise some eyebrows. As a mate text me on Monday morning: "Tim. Just seen the PFA awards results. No arguments about the individual awards, but is that team of the year some sort of sick joke?"
That seems to be a pretty common overview really, and rightly so. My team of the year won't be official until May 13th, but still, it's vital to say at this juncture that it's a poor list. Van der Sar is a crazy pick. He wouldn't even be in my top five goalkeepers for the season. Evra over Clichy and Baines is crazy. Vidic and Rio have been colossus together, but individually its hard to say they have been better than Woodgate, Carragher and Carvalho. Rio should probably hold his spot, but the pair of them? Nah. The strict 4-4-2 system of the team means that Giggs probably gets his spot, although I would do a Keegan and whack Scholes on the left to accommodate Essien. Then there is Berbatov. If this is the Premiership team of the year, surely a striker with nine in twenty-six shouldn't make it. His rise in form at the time of voting, as well his UEFA Cup ratio probably helped him, but I would have gone with McCarthy I think.
Anyway, lets move on because I'm getting a headache.
Football rules .but what actually happened last week?
The final most people wanted to see in the UEFA Cup looks very unlikely now, as two of La Liga's forgotten teams produced excellent displays in the semi final, first legs. Soldado and Pandiani helped Osasuna and Espanyol to excellent wins, and they are one-step closer to the final at Hampden Park on May 16th.
Man Utd and Chelsea both drew in the Premiership. We didn't see much of either game, though, as SKY were more interested in watching the fans go through the motions. Big weekend for the pair. A trip to Goodison for United is extremely dangerous.
David James' finally beat David Seaman's clean sheet record, which is surprising for a number of innuendo-related reasons, but either way, well done to the chap. He's had a great season.
The North London derby was a fascinating contest, with Jermaine Jenas scoring a 95th minute screamer to give the hosts an unwarranted point. After a great finish from Keane, Spurs seemed set to clinch their first derby win since 1999, but cometh the, er, half hour, cometh the man. Fabregas entered the fray and was a maverick. He turned Arsenal into the driving force of the contest and subsequently made Spurs look totally ordinary. Two goals later, and they were in a deserved lead, but it only takes a second to score a goal, and Jermaine Jenas can vouch for that analogy.
Charlton and Sheffield United ended in a scrappy 1-1 draw, but the real story was my flatmate being interviewed by Kevin Day after the game and making it onto Match of the Day 2. Funny, funny stuff. Abuse followed.
Bobby Pires' awful campaign received a boost on Sunday, as he helped Villarreal beat La Liga table-toppers, Barca, 2-0. It's that sort of clinical finishing from midfield that Arsenal have missed this term. Certainly one of Wenger's rare transfer mistakes.
That slip-up allowed Sevilla and Real Madrid to gain ground on Rijkaard's men. The latter looked class, with Van Nistelrooy scoring one of the goals of 2007 thus far, with a clinical volley.
Ronaldo scored another brace for Meeeeeeeeeeeelan, including one off his chest, whilst sporting a bizarre hairstyle. God love him.
Arsenal have been linked to Luca Toni, Florent Malouda, Craig Gordon, Franck Ribery, Scott Parker and a few others over the past week. A tenner says that Wenger doesn't buy one of them. Anyone?
Fernando Torres was seen sporting a loose armband with some writing on it, over the weekend. That writing translated into, "You'll never walk alone." How interesting.
Javier Saviola looks set to snub Inter and Juventus this summer to secure a controversial move to Real Madrid from Barcelona. For a little lad, he has some brass.
Boro finally secured the services of Jonathan Woodgate on a permanent deal, from Real Madrid. A superb coup for Southgate, as on his day, fully fit, he is as good as anyone. Truly.
Lastly, a quick word for the sad passing of one of the heroes of England's World Cup winning team from 1966. Following a heart-attack earlier this week, Alan Ball passed away. A sad loss for the one of the game's true characters.
Top 5 Moments of the week
05 Jenas vs. Arsenal 04 Cech's save from Gerrard. 03 Stelios popping a balloon to try and put Doyle off before his penalty. Brilliant. 02 Scholes' pass for Rooney's equaliser. 01 Kaka. You are pretty damn good, fella. That header past the Chuckle brothers was just genius.
The Adventures of Laurence Hobbs
A rare treat for you all. Here is Hobbsy tucking into a burger outside Highbury before the game with Bolton.
This is Hobbsy at his happiest.
Last Week's Match Predictions (bold = prediction, italics = actual results)
Premiership
Tuesday April 17th
Arsenal v Man City 3-1 // 3-1
Man Utd v Sheff Utd 4-1 // 2-0
Wednesday 18th
Blackburn v Watford 0-0 // 3-1
Liverpool v Middlesbrough 2-0 // 2-0
West Ham v Chelsea 1-2 // 1-4
Saturday 21st
Bolton v Reading 1-1 // 1-3
Charlton v Sheff Utd 1-0 // 1-1
Fulham v Blackburn 2-0 // 1-1
Liverpool v Wigan 1-0 // 2-0
Man Utd v Middlesbrough 3-1 // 1-1
Tottenham v Arsenal 1-1 // 2-2
Watford v Man City 1-2 // 1-1
West Ham v Everton 1-2 // 1-0
Sunday 22nd
Aston Villa v Portsmouth 3-2 // 0-0
Newcastle v Chelsea 0-1 // 0-0
Next Week's Match Predictions
Premiership
Saturday 28th
Blackburn v Charlton 2-1
Chelsea v Bolton 2-1
Everton v Man Utd 1-1
Man City v Aston Villa 0-2
Middlesbrough v Tottenham 3-0
Portsmouth v Liverpool 1-0
Sheff Utd v Watford 2-1
Wigan v West Ham 2-2
Sunday 29th
Arsenal v Fulham 1-1
Monday 30th
Reading v Newcastle 2-1
Read these or I can't guarantee you'll have a good week
I'll be back Tuesday with a preview of the UEFA Champions League semi final, second legs, as well as looking back at the weekend's Premiership action. Until then
