Carlito's Way

the Mariah of Manchester

Yesterday gave birth to what was seemingly a new chapter in the storied farce that has become Carlos Tevez, with the Argentine refusing to enter the match against Bayern Munich in their Champions League tie. Being a both a zealot of football and having a near-romance with the game, the Footy Fox is left befuddled over the recent events. In all likelihood, this simply comes down karma having her way with Man Citeh for trying to do a job on Manchester United by signing their once-a-star.   

Down 2-nil in the second half, manager Roberto Mancini asked Tevez to warm-up from the bench to enter the game. After a shake of the head and a pout of the face, Tevez had done the unthinkable and refused to enter the competition for which every pence of the £300 million plus purchased squad was assembled. Coaches tried to reason with him, teammates tried to encourage him, and yet little Carlos held his ground. In refusing to play in European club football’s crown jewel competition, he has truly become a pariah to the club at Man City and a toddler not worth the money or the time.

Strikingly more perplexing is the statement he (read: his agent/handlers looking out for their pockets rather than the player) issued, saying:

“I would like to apologise to all Manchester City fans, with whom I have always had a strong relationship, for any misunderstanding that occurred in Munich. They understand that when I am on the pitch I have always given my best for the club. In Munich on Tuesday I had warmed up and was ready to play. This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play. There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood. Going forward I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations.”

Surely there is some validity to saying “my position may have been misunderstood,” since the Footy Fox will admit to having little knowledge of whether a shake-of-the-head roughly translates to “no” or “hell no” in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and South America might actually mean “yes” or even “let’s have a tea” in Argentina.

Yet the issue is really one of wishful thinking and naïveté on the part of Man City, as Tevez has twice since January asked to leave the club, citing his need to be closer to his children in Argentina. With speculative targets for him being in Spain or Italy, the Footy Fox is wondering if someone might be have a little fun with Carlos by telling him that those two countries are in South America.

But this summer provided City the much needed cover of a big money transfer for their once-talisman, with Corinthians of Argentina offering £35 million for the striker. The deal was to be financed over several years, with small fraction of the transfer fee being paid up front which caused City to balk at the deal. Apparently possession of what amounts to a war chest of oil money, while at the same time being offered good value for a player who wants out doesn’t resonate with the blue side of Manchester.

With the player refusing to play, and the manager Mancini understandably fuming while stating Tevez will never play for Man City again, surely his value will only drop. Nevermind that he's being paid £286 000 per week to play for City, his actions shouldn't be tolerated even if he was being paid bus fare and a new pair of cleats.  There aren’t too many clubs, especially in the South American sub-continent of Spain-Italy, who would be keen on spending tens of millions of Euros on a player with a history as coloured as the diva that wouldn’t; City have made their own bed in this matter.      

There's Winning, and Then There's Winning...

Y'alright mate?

Another treble for Wazza

Winning is a thing of poetry, but doing so in a way that is so emphatic as to humiliate one’s opponents goes beyond the realms of even the greatest wordsmith. Yet many pundits will lavish Manchester United’s performances thus far with compliments and credit; and perhaps rightly so as well. This is especially fair considering their last three matches (3-0 over Tottenham, 8-2 over Arsenal and 5-0 over Bolton) have demonstrated their ability to hand opponents some painful lessons.

The Footy Fox will tow a more practical line. Simply put, any team can win with the proper expression of fundamentals married to a sound tactical plan, and United did just that. Have they managed to bring together some exceptional talent? Absolutely. But it’s also a matter of the tactical elements implemented through Sir Alex.

In United’s style of play, they’ve adapted defenders to move into attacking positions as much as possible. This leads to a pincer like movement of attack, one that surrounds the opposing goal area and then applies pressure to create high-percentage chances on goal.

We saw this on the weekend in heavy servings as Phil Jones (a center back) managed to dribble inside the 18 (yard box) on a number of occasions. Add to this the forward movement of Smalling and Evra, United was effectively attacking with 7 or 8 men constantly. All that was needed with such overwhelming numbers and pressure is precise one-touch passing and quality shooting, and the score line really began to run away, as it did against Arsenal and Tottenham.

The best way of countering it is either through aggressive man-marking and defending, as Bolton tried, or by cutting out the passing lanes to minimize the space for attackers to run into. Either way takes a highly disciplined and committed approach from a team, and since most teams don’t want to accept the need to simply defend and absorb pressure, it is often difficult to implement.  

A stiffer challenge lies ahead this coming weekend against Chelsea, plus there is the Champions League fixture versus Benfica midweek. Chelsea consider themselves title contenders, and offer considerably more experience in all positions that United’s previous opponents. So while Man United look to play with a confident swagger and sound tactics, the true measure of their abilities and limitations might be better known this time next week. But with Rooney netting another treble (hat trick), Chicharito finding the net for a brace (two goals), and strong performances from the midfield and defence, it’s easy to fashion an expectation for more of the same from the poets of the pitch. Jog on!

Oh...sigh...Canada

Y’alright mate?

This week Canada managed a 3-nil win over Puerto Rico in a World Cup qualifying match. On a personal level, Canadian football has always held a certain strangeness bordering on contempt. Before you jump to conclusions, keep in mind what the lover of football has to deal with in Canada: Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest, the Canadian Soccer Association, the MLS, Toronto FC, a consistent failure to qualify for the World Cup, as well as underachieving in the Gold Cup, and the prevalence of puck jockeys who bash the game.

Anyone who did watch the game should have noted the complete lack of intelligent football on behalf of each team. Sloppy passing and low-percentage balls were the norm, and unimaginative play seemed to be the game plan. Add to that the lack of pressure on the ball and it was hardly the quality one expects to see in Brazil in 2014, let alone a side that might have potential to even reach the finals.

It’s also worth noting that each of the Canadian goals, while coming in open play, were scrappy at best. Rather than being the result of creative play or incisive passing, they seemed to rely on a combination of purely wishful balls being sent into the area and sloppy defending. Is there something to be said for scoring scrappy goals? Absolutely. Any good team needs to be able to capitalize on mistakes, and at the very least force their opponent into conceding them. Yet relying on mistakes as a matter of an attacking platform seems somewhat adolescent, and at best reminds me of the hockey mentality of getting the puck towards the net and hoping.

The solution lies in a more fluid concept of attack, one in which ball possession combined high-percentage passing/shooting and a work-rate that inspires constant pressure. If they can’t sort out a better way to score goals, it’s going to take a lot of charity on the pitch to even gain a glimmer of hope in making it to Brazil.

As for my Gerry Dobson reference, here are two gems from the Canada broadcast that he felt fitting to share with the viewing audience:

“Canada is playing a 4-2-2,” and “That was a foul so it will be a goal kick.”

Well on Mr. Dobson, apparently broadcasting takes little more than a marginal understanding of football...well on.

Cheers,

The Footy Fox