Loose Fixtures

Clubs that choose their own fixtures could improve player fitness, reduce injuries and make the Premier League more entertaining

Somewhere, in an office in a quiet suburban backwater, a printer smoothly deposits a sheaf of A4, around a quarter of an inch in depth, into the hand of a man wearing a slightly creased shirt. He has his top button undone.

The man sits back in his chair for a moment, fishing for his cigarettes in his breast pocket with forefinger and thumb, perusing the first page with a slight squint. He is getting older, and this is the nineteenth year he has done this job. A coffee in a coffee-coloured plastic vending cup cools on his cluttered desk. He frowns, exhales loudly and flicks through pages.

Then his eyes stop. He stares, and then checks his watch. Then his diary. There is a small cross and 'LS' is marked next to the date. He checks the sheet again. He checks his diary again. He drops his cigarettes on the desk and turns back to his computer, and opens his email.

Someone has beaten him to it. There is one new unread email in his inbox, and it reads:

'El Clasico - Luis is back!!!'

The man balls a fist and swears jubilantly. Outside, nothing has changed.

That's what you'll get when you leave the idea of the random fixture generator to an overactive imagination, anyway. In truth, whilst it's probably not without its share of quirks, there's probably less smoking and less swearing. And a paperless environment, in modern climes.

So many unfortunate pictures of Luis Suarez to chew over.

But sometimes there's a fixture so good, at just the right moment, that you want to raise an eyebrow at the sheer improbability of it all. It's a fair bet this season's has already happened. In Spain, the first clasico falls on the first day Luis Suarez (above) is allowed to train with his new club after that ban for what's been amusingly dubbed the most expensive Italian he'll probably ever eat.

Irrespective of emotional reactions here, the return of Suarez could probably not be better timed. He may not play as he is not supposed to even train during his ban - but you can bet Barcelona will try to find a way around that particular predicament, even if it involves him training in private, away from the club and staff. Will he get 15 minutes? If he's even halfway fit, and it's a tight contest...

No doubt that it is a coincidence - but is there some merit in considering the unthinkable and letting clubs choose when some of their games are played?

There are plenty of good sporting ones - for one, many European trams, and particularly English ones, are breathing hard as they reach the final sprint of a long season, and fatigue undoubtedly plays a part in deciding outcomes in tight games where previously a draw may have beckoned.

That makes the game interesting. But what about the various flights clubs have to make when making up European games? Teams in the Champions League have to fly to and from countries in the space of 48 hours before weekend matches. The matches aren't going to go away - but what about giving each team, say, three matches they can definitely move once the fixtures are announced?

Each team's decision would be binding - i.e the opposing team would not be able to overrule - and this would be communicated to interested parties in advance (e.g the ubiquitous television networks involved in European football's fixture list sequencing).

This could be particularly useful for those clubs on the accursed Thursday-Sunday routine when midweek European trips to far-flung Greek/ Ukrainian/ Russian clubs mean longer returns and recoveries, especially in midwinter. Teams such as Spurs, who have been on the brink of regular Champions League qualification for the last decade, could utilise the policy to trade in some of their trickier away games for easier matches or even a bye weekend, should the fixture list allow it.

For teams struggling to meet the demands of the Premier League or those facing up to relegation, a canny perusal of the fixtures before the start of the seasons could establish which games to move to give players a break, or breaking a chain of difficult matches to prevent fatigue and low morale setting in after a series of poor results.

 

There could also be a benefit to reducing the number of injuries in teams. Several clubs may benefit from moving games out of the hectic Christmas period, when congestion is common and players carry injuries over into the new year as European competitions start again. Clubs given the opportunity to move these could see players return from injury quicker and pick up less 'niggly' injuries - which seriously hindered Arsenal's prospects last season, for example.

From an entertainment perspective, very little in practice would actually change - in fact it might be arguable that the league may actually get more competitive as all teams would be able to manipulate their performance to some extent, which could produce some interesting results come May. Although Spurs would still probably come fifth.

Picture thanks to Sky Sports

World Cup 2014: Thanks for the memories

A strange and surreal moment occurred last night, early in extra time. Courtesy of the BBC's Guy Mowbray we discovered that Germany had gone unbeaten in 27 matches. Argentina, their cup final challengers, had gone 23 games unbeaten. As this alarmingly meaningless number was burbled over the mic, Argentina's maestro Javier Mascherano executed a perfect sliding tackle on Bastian Schweinsteiger. Which got you more excited?

'The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life from our souls', said Pablo Picasso. And it's hard to see how football gets more exciting following a World Cup that sought, demanded, emotional responses. A host country that belted out its national anthem that brought tears to the eyes. A classic rock track, retouched by a swarm of boisterous Argentines, just for the occasion. James Rodriguez. There were so many examples of the beautiful game here that the numbers game feels remote. Silly.

Stat after stat was fed by Lineker to Hansen, like Polo mints to a former champion thoroughbred put out to pasture. The first time since 1946 this. The only time in history that. Even FIFA are not immune. They, in their own way, are beginning to compartmentalise a game that burst at the seams here. Their award of the Golden Ball to Lionel Messi felt fraudulent; it was dubbed 'a marketing trick' by Diego Maradona shortly afterwards. When no one can see the point of the award given, it calls into question the legitimacy of that award. Messi performed well, but Maradona, as ever, had his finger on the pulse of the sport's still-beating heart.

The game does not need the bits businesses can't do without. Numbers are the boring half of a story well worth listening to. The World Cup should be like the world's best ever holiday photo collection. Every picture should tell a brilliant story - and there were so many. The aforementioned Rodriguez, a star in the remaking. The Costa Ricans. Tim Cahill's astonishing strike versus the Dutch. Neymar's bravura performance - at times he appeared to be stooped with the weight of expectation.

Perhaps the best example of Brazil's success was the USA. As a team - as a nation - their watershed moment was as authentic as they come; an almost, last-gasp sort of a match against a fancied Belgian side who were on the ropes as the US players summoned unknown reserves and tore into them. They could have won. Even better - millions of people wanted to see them win. And they weren't all American.

Brazil offered so much to so many. It's a spiritual home for the game - a genuinely great choice by FIFA. Its infrastructure, as noted by many journalists, was good, not the horror show many were led to believe. Live television showed matches in airplanes - a brilliant idea, and one that should be implemented for the next World Cup and, if necessary, European Championships. And the fans were everything a major tournament needed to grab the attention undivided.

So FIFA ought not to forget the intangibles when next flinging the merry-go-round for its biggest global moneyspinner. Accidents will happen and mistakes will be made but there can be no doubt this was a huge, huge success for all involved.

So of course - here's my tournament highlights. Where possible I've added some relevant context. Numbers be damned.

Player of the tournament: James Rodriguez

Who else? Golden Boot winner having played two games less than Thomas Muller, it feels almost asinine to point out Rodriguez's emblematic qualities for the most tear-streaked Copa in recent memory. Besides a near-assault by Brazil's hustling defence and midfield in their quarter-final punch-up, Rodriguez did the near-impossible: he took Falcao out of the picture. When you consider the fact that the centre forward was so important to the nation's tournament plans that the president of Colombia went to see him following his surgery, Rodriguez's achievements are all the more amplified. And that goal. Pffffft.

Team of the tournament (playing 4-2-3-1)
Neuer; Lahm, Hummels, Blind, Mena; Mascherano, Kroos; Cuadrado, Robben, Rodriguez; Muller.

Best match

Undoubtedly Holland 5-1 Spain. A watershed moment; the moment everyone knew this World Cup would be different. The Brazil demolition will perhaps live longer in the memory, for its extraordinary historical connotations, but it was essentially a 30 minute match. Van Gaal had dismantled the famous Dutch 4-3-3 and but for some slipshod play from David Silva, Holland very nearly went in 2-0 down at the break. Instead, Van Persie's extraordinary salmon leap (left)past a baffled Casillas, and one of the great solo performances from Arjen Robben cut the Spanish to smart little red ribbons. From that point on all bets, metaphorically speaking, were off.

Honourable mention: Belgium-USA may have unintended consequences for soccer in the States. Billed as a fairly tight match before kick-off, the game appeared to become a 90 minute physical exam for American goalkeeper Tim Howard, who now holds the record number of saves made in a match with 16. For Belgium, everybody bar coach Wilmots tried. Hazard had a go. Orige had a go. Belgium's defence had multiple gos from set pieces. But the man, like Margaret Thatcher but with more animal rights persuasions, was not for turning. To pick the ball out of his goal, you understand.
When two goals did arrive for Belgium in extra time, the Americans simply went for the jugular - and nearly brought the Belgians down. 'Not good for my heart' was all Wilmots said at full time. For millions of Americans, Brazilians and Europeans around the world, the truth was exactly the opposite.

Best dressed manager

Without a shadow of a doubt Louis van Gaal (left) and his backing group of orange-tied note-taking coaching staff. Whoever thought of this arrangement - and the uniform basis has the distinctive style/structure yin-yang of van Gaal's best arrangements - ought to be provided with some sort of fashion medal. Preferably by someone like Kraftwerk, who'd probably love this sort of thing.

Honourable mention: Jogi, Jogi, Jogi. Eternal cool, and now a World Cup winner. The only manager in football who could drink a cognac and smoking Marlboro Reds in the dugout without getting automatically sent off, the man didn't wear a single suit in the entire tournament. Bravo.

Best goal

The shrinking gap between video game goals and real life goals continues apace. Some quite astonishing aerodynamics went into Robin van Persie's airborne header-lob, but people do tend to overlook the cross from wing back Daley Blind that was so accurate van Persie didn't even break stride to befuddle Casillas.
Tim Cahill's crossbar smash-in may prove to be the moment to prompt the paradigm shift between real goals and goals scored on FIFA on X Boxes everywhere. A goal so unique that you (probably) couldn't score it on a computer, it was that good.
But the best still has to be Rodriguez's jaw-dropping effort versus Uruguay. So good, the Colombian commentators went nuts even by their usual standards. And the look on his face - 'did I just do that?!' - is one that should guarantee a place in the greatest of greatest hits.

Best national anthem

Chile. Just listen to this, and feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Best set piece

Yes this category's mainly included because you'll probably never again see Thomas Muller act so comically in a football match. But there were some genuinely good ones. The USA's straight ball, almost deadpan in tone, from a free kick, right through the Belgian defence at 2-1 down had hearts in mouths everywhere. David Luiz's whomp versus Colombia made every British journalist momentarily re-consider their appraisal of him as 'a bit dodgy'.
But the winner  - sorry, England - is Italy's inspired corner-kick routine from which Claudio Marchisio scored the opening goal. A goal of simple brilliance, with the ingeniously illusory element provided by - of course - regista di tutti registas Andrea Pirlo. Bloody marvellous.

Pics courtesy of The Guardian, 101 Great Goals and Eurosport Australia

The Premier League: A Trans Europa Success

English football does not simply need less foreign footballers - it needs more, and it needs the best, to improve at international level

One hundred and ten! proudly tooted the Premier League at the start of the World Cup. Can you guess what the number relates to? No, not the average percentage of debt to profit ratio for each Premier League club, although good call. It's actually the number of Premier League players involved in Brazil.

 

One hundred and ten. Like a lot of numbers, it feels significant. Assuming each Premier league squad boasts an average 23 players, as per this World Cup, that infers that nearly a quarter of all the players we watch week in, week out on Match of the Day et al are international players capable of playing in the world's biggest and best football tournament.

 

Rubbish, grouches the football traditionalist who's no doubt sick of seeing England getting knocked out early again, and perhaps mutters to himself that the English would do a lot better without these foreign international players clogging up their youth teams.



None of the 2014 Ballon D'or winners play in England

Would they? Nationalism is a funny thing and it has not infected sport in the same way as it has politics and culture in Britain. In England, we love watching Silva, Hazard, Oscar, Aguero, Kompany, Van Persie and Ozil. Football fans in this country are not overtly racist and it would be an interesting exercise to see who the average terrace fan voted for at the last European elections.

It's certainly true to say England has a problem with foreign footballers, but what it really has a problem with, as usual, is ownership and strategy. Of the last eight nations left in the World Cup, 37 players play in the Premier League. That's around 20% of the eight squads - and that figure's significantly heightened by ten French players and 11 Belgians. If you strip those two away, the figure becomes less than 10%. Compare that to the Bundesliga, on 38%, and La Liga, on 33%. Still the best league in the world?

 

Of course, you think, it's natural that if you speak Spanish or Portuguese - as Argentina, Brazil and Colombia do - you'll want to be around people like you. Spaniards, for example. Except that's also not true. Nine leagues are represented in the Brazil and Colombia squads, and seven in the Argentina squad. In England, Spain and Italy, the squads are represented by two, four and two respectively.

 

Travel really does seem to broaden the mind and it appears, superficially at least, there's little doubt that the English are simply too insular when it comes to their football. But the economics, unlike South American leagues, make it hard to resist playing in one league when it could set the player up financially for life.

 

The exception of course is Germany, who have 20 of their players based in the Bundesliga. But there is room to develop youth there, without risk of clubs going through the blender should relegation occur. The '50+1' shareholder model is characteristic of a philosophy which ensures financial fair play is pretty much already in place. In both Italy and Spain there are serious long term debt issues for various clubs - much like the Premier League. This year's Spanish champions, Atletico, are over £100 million in debt over unpaid taxes.

English football is simply a smudge on a broader canvas that reflects the way Britain has relied upon skilled immigration to add value to its most lucrative industries - for example, financial services. For the Premier League, see any building housed in Canary Wharf after close of business, when British citizens can be seen scrubbing at the City's skyscraping artifices.

The difference in football, unfortunately, is that the hired help is often better than the in-house. That has nothing to do with money - that, as can be seen in Colombia's squad make-up, is much more about determination and a strong sense of self-worth. The things an Englishman cannot buy.

Britain needs top foreign talent to improve still further, and a greater focus on buying top-bracket foreign players at cheaper players' expense would still mean great entertainment. But would the inevitable culture change mean a move back to traditional, outmoded English tactics? Moreover, would a change in the number of nationalities reduce the likelihood of Brazilians playing in England? There are many more, but questions like this are important.

 

No one can doubt that the English has improved immeasurably in the wake of David Luiz, Sergio Aguero, Fernando Torres, Nemanja Vidic et al arriving. All have given huge amounts. But if we've learned nothing and simply watched the circus as it passed through town, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Picture thanks to World Soccer

A Load Of Hot Air?

The key to South American success is down to tactics, not the weather - and France and the Netherlands are proof

During the 1994 World Cup, before their first group match versus Morocco, the Belgian national team decided to try something to counteract the stifling Floridian heat. The plan was admittedly unorthodox; hair gel. Temperatures in Orlando were forecast to reach ninety degrees that day anyway, and so the Belgians slathered their hair in the desperate hope it would help keep them cool.

 

Belgium won 1-0, one Moroccan collapsed from dehydration, and sixty fans were hospitalised. But in the end, the better team won.

 

At this World Cup, the picture's much the same. Most pundits have put their money on a South American side flourishing, and the results, so far, bear them out. Spain, Italy and England are already out, whilst Belgium and Portugal have struggled to break teams down. Six out of the first eight group qualifiers - Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and hosts Brazil - are from Latin America.  

 

But it would be lazy to suggest it's all about the weather. It's a contributory factor for sure, but the main reason this tournament's seen one hundred goals already concerns the stuff football is all about - space, tactics and formations, particularly the return of wing backs and five man midfields.

 

Take Chile. Their exploitation of the wider spaces through their overlapping wing backs has seen some breathtaking moves, and their interlocking front players  - Eduardo Vargas (right), Alexis Sanchez and Jorge Valdivia, has been one of the best things about the tournament so far. Sanchez is particularly strong at running from out to in, as per his role with Barcelona, and that has made the three very difficult to track by opposing centre halves. Their performance versus Spain, coupled with their usual pressing excellence, made for exhilarating, high-risk football, and the holders simply could not hold the middle whilst being asked to track the marauding Isla and Mena.

 

But exactly the same argument could be made of the Netherlands, who utilised a defensive 5-3-2 and offensive 3-4-1-2 versus Spain and reaped rewards. Robben and Van Persie grabbed all the headlines but it was Ajax defender Daley Blind, son of legend Danny, who made the key difference, with his runs down the Spanish right tilting the play over to that side and also providing some very useful long balls to the forwards. Van Gaal correctly calculated that Spain didn't possess the men to make runs in behind his three man defence, and was able to utilise his players further up the field as a result.

 

The other major surprise has undoubtedly been Costa Rica who will play Greece in a second round match no one anticipated. Qualifying top, their secret - again - has been utilising a strong press with a wing-back formation that allowed them to break at speed against opponents who played with four defensive players, handing the Costa Ricans a man advantage in midfield that they utilised throughout.

 

The downside to all these full-backs pressing up the pitch? France 5 Switzerland 2. France destroyed Switzerland down the flanks through very quick counterattacks, with Valbuena and Benzema (left) both enjoying acres of space in the final third. Coupled with a very efficient goals-to-chances ratio, they are undoubtedly one of the teams to beat.

 

Whilst it's definitely true that the heat has made possession even more important to teams, quick transfers from defence to attacking formations have been integral to fast, clinical play that saves energy for the team in possession. To reap the benefits, you don't need to be born in a hot country - you need to be able to play whatever the situation demands.

 

Pictures courtesy of Eurosport Asia and IBNLive.com 

 

Thoughts on... World Cup 2014

Why Spain won't win, why Argentina could, and why Brazil probably will

 

It's never nice to see bold predictions spectacularly backfire, as Dutch journalist Simon Kuper learned last night. But I'm going to make some anyway.

 

 1. Spain won't win again

Simply put, Spain are far too close in organisation and style to club side Barcelona, who ended this season without a trophy for the first time in six years. There are seven Barcelona players in the Spain squad. Real have three, and league champions Atletico have four. Five of those Barca players started last night's game, and Pedro came on during the second half.  

 
Both sides monopolise possession. Both sides have struggled to score goals recently, with Barca's end-of-season form particularly unsettling from a Spanish perspective. The numbers are very similar: Spain controlled matches with 65% possession at the last World Cup and a staggering 68% at Euro 2012. Barca's record is very similar, with 67% in 2010 and 68% in 2012. Real Madrid, la seleccion's other main source of players, offered 56% in both 2010 and 2012.

Goals have also been hard to come by for Spanish strikers, with only Brazil-born Diego Costa scoring more than 20 goals in his respective league this season. Whilst Spain have relied on a solid defence and vast amounts of the ball to control matches, the signs last night were ominous. 

Ramos, tormented by Robben, appears to have left his form in Lisbon. Pique seems affected by that anxiety and exhaustion that has consumed the blaugrana in their final weeks. And perhaps Casillas (above), struggling for game time, has finally hit the wall after a career laden with awards. With all of these barriers to overcome, it will not be La Roja who lift the trophy in the Maracana.

 

2. Brazil enjoy home comforts

 

As Nate Silver's noted, Brazil are nearly unbeatable at home when it really counts. Leaving aside a very streaky performance versus a bold, adventurous Croatia, Group A should hold no further worries for them, with a Mexico side rebounding from a dismal 12 months and a Cameroon side yet again distracted by pay issues from its FA.

 

Plenty of commentators have observed the near-religious fervor the team experiences in Brazil, and it is very tempting to wonder how much of Thursday's performance was down to nerves. Scolari's side do look very vulnerable to thrusting counterattacks down the wings, with Alves particularly at fault on Thursday evening, and sides that can capitalise on this will enjoy chances aplenty. But Brazil rarely come apart when it really matters, and still boast a team spread across Europe complete with genuine stars - Neymar (above) and Thiago Silva being the standouts. 

 

But the most compelling reason for tipping Brazil lies in their history at home. As mentioned, the last time Brazil last lost a competitive match in their home country was 1975. The only surprise is that bookmakers have not chosen the hosts as their runaway favourites - for that is what the form book suggests. 

 

3. Belgium will struggle

 

Every serious football hipster wants to see Belgium do well. And with a squad containing some of Europe's premier talents, it's likely they'll make short work of a group that offers only Russia as the serious competition. Hazard, De Bruyne, Kompany and co will also see the tournament as a chance to make a dent on the 'good on paper' theory plenty will subscribe to.
 
Their weak point, unfortunately, is a lack of goals. Although plenty of the team have contributed, Christian Benteke is their top scorer with six goals since 2010. And with Benteke out through the injury, Belgium will need to find goals from elsewhere - and on current form at this World Cup, lots of them.
 

The other significant problem is Belgium's second round opponents, who will probably be either Germany or Portugal. Portugal may not possess as much strength in depth as their illustrious group counterparts, but in Ronaldo they will offer every team a serious threat and a backing squad of Joao Moutinho, Pepe, Fabio Coentrao and Varela will keep Belgium occupied. This is probably two years too early. Expect big things in 2016. 

 

4. Argentina should run Brazil close

 

La Albiceleste are ranked as second favourites to lift the Jules Rimet trophy behind the hosts Brazil, but leaving aside home advantage, the Argentines possess a far stronger squad than almost everyone else, bar the Germans and Spain. A dazzling forward line containing Higuain (right), Aguero and Lionel Messi is backed up by a renascent Fernando Gago and Real Madrid's Champions League final architect, Angel di Maria.

 

Statistically they are South America's deadliest side - with the highest ball retention figure at 85% and more goals (35) than every other side, they will run riot in a weak group containing Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nigeria and Iran. They have scored two goals or more in more than a third of all games since 2010, and that habit of building unassailable leads will be important in sticky, sapping conditions. And with potentially the easiest route to the final of all of the favourites, the neutrals have more than one reason to hedge their bets on Brazil's hated neighbours winning in their backyard.

 

5. Sometimes statistics count for nothing

 

Jonathan Liew makes England to be statistically the model team for winning the World Cup. And that's really why you should take all of the above with a large pinch of cachaça.

Photos from Soccer Lens and The Guardian