Goals Galore?
A cursory glance at the major signings in the Premiership so far shows exactly where the managers believe this season’s games will be won and lost – up front. Strikers have been bought and sold like nobody’s business - and I’m not just talking about the top 4 either. For all they’ve brought in Tevez, Torres, Pizarro and Eduardo, the rest of the league has followed suit, albeit in more humble financial deals. The list of strikers to have moved clubs this summer is quite staggering, ranging from the incomprehensible (Aliadiere to Middlesbrough, anyone??) to the predictable - if pricey (Bent to Spurs, Nugent to Portsmouth).
Even Newcastle – desperate for a defence – have added Mark Viduka and Alan Smith to a forward line already boasting Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and fit-again Shola Ameobi. Sunderland spent big on Chopra, Portsmouth brought in Utaka and Nugent, and are still being linked with a move for either Yakubu or Kanoute. Fulham may have built a new squad virtually, but for all the money they spent on their defence, they spent almost as much again on Diomansy Kamara. Not to mention bringing in David Healy alongside him, not that bringing in a player from Leeds costs much these days. But money spent isn’t my point – the values involved don’t interest me, it’s the trend towards strikers.
Manchester City have a new strikeforce, as do West Ham, Middlesbrough, and even Aston Villa when you consider Marlon Harewood has been added to January recruits Young and Carew - that’s 3 players who weren’t there this time last season. I’ve sat and watched these developments with interest all summer, and I think we’re set for exciting changes this season.
In recent years, the likes of Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the latest bloke to deflect a Frank Lampard effort have dominated the goal scoring charts. This is especially true since the departure of Van Nistelrooy, who when he left Man U, was clearly the best striker in the country. That left Henry, who got crocked, and so Drogba was the only actual striker to outscore the big 3’s main midfield men. When the likes of Villa, Man City, Newcastle and Bolton haven’t got a striker between them who can outscore a Chelsea midfielder, what chance do they really have of pushing them hard for their Champions League place? Or of actually giving them a decent game twice a season instead of just being swept aside week-in, week-out? Virtually none.
Undoubtedly, it was Blackburn who made the signing of the season last summer, with the capture of Benni McCarthy. The other candidates must surely be Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez, which perfectly demonstrates the point I want to make. One or two individual managers saw as early as last season that the Premier League was a league without strikers. With Van Nistelrooy gone, all it took was for Henry to get injured and Shevchenko to be crap, and Drogba had the goalscoring charts to himself. Little wonder then, that Blackburn were many people’s surprise team of the season, that Berbatov found himself linked to Man U (as Van Nistelrooy’s potential replacement) and that Tevez finished up there, after saving West Ham single handedly.
Those managers who bought strikers last season were by and large rewarded, with other, less spectacular (but still notable) contributions from the likes of Johnson and Martins. The majority of strikers bought last summer – excluding the “best of them all” Shevchenko – made major contributions to their clubs. But mostly, these clubs were the same old suspects. Spurs, Everton, Newcastle…the bigger clubs in the league who tend to have goalscorers envied by others. Blackburn were unique in that they tried to break into that group by bringing in a man who could win games on his own. They tested the theory that good, organised teamwork will only get you so far without a class act to put the ball in the net. McCarthy worked his magic and saved Blackburn’s season, whilst the likes of Man City, Fulham, Sheffield United, Watford, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth etc could only watch on and wish they’d thought of following suit.
Well this season they bloody well have done. The promoted teams have all splashed out on potential goalscorers, as have teams like Middlesbrough and Fulham that many tip for the drop. Taking the McCarthy-Blackburn example (and I know not all of them will reach that goal tally, but still…) if even half of these new strikers perform to his standards then how many of their clubs will be surprising us on a weekly basis? With the exception of Derby, I don’t see a side in the Premiership without a potential match winner in their squad, many of them brought in this summer.
Surely then, the age of a striker-less Premier League is dead. The age of Lampard, Gerrard and Ronaldo battling with a solitary striker at the top of the goalscoring charts is dead. The age of Portsmouth – Man City being a crappy 0-0 draw that you wouldn’t watch if it was being played in your garden is well and truly dead.
Long live the age of strikers, and the age of goals – we could be in for a cracker of a season.
Even Newcastle – desperate for a defence – have added Mark Viduka and Alan Smith to a forward line already boasting Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and fit-again Shola Ameobi. Sunderland spent big on Chopra, Portsmouth brought in Utaka and Nugent, and are still being linked with a move for either Yakubu or Kanoute. Fulham may have built a new squad virtually, but for all the money they spent on their defence, they spent almost as much again on Diomansy Kamara. Not to mention bringing in David Healy alongside him, not that bringing in a player from Leeds costs much these days. But money spent isn’t my point – the values involved don’t interest me, it’s the trend towards strikers.
Manchester City have a new strikeforce, as do West Ham, Middlesbrough, and even Aston Villa when you consider Marlon Harewood has been added to January recruits Young and Carew - that’s 3 players who weren’t there this time last season. I’ve sat and watched these developments with interest all summer, and I think we’re set for exciting changes this season.
In recent years, the likes of Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the latest bloke to deflect a Frank Lampard effort have dominated the goal scoring charts. This is especially true since the departure of Van Nistelrooy, who when he left Man U, was clearly the best striker in the country. That left Henry, who got crocked, and so Drogba was the only actual striker to outscore the big 3’s main midfield men. When the likes of Villa, Man City, Newcastle and Bolton haven’t got a striker between them who can outscore a Chelsea midfielder, what chance do they really have of pushing them hard for their Champions League place? Or of actually giving them a decent game twice a season instead of just being swept aside week-in, week-out? Virtually none.
Undoubtedly, it was Blackburn who made the signing of the season last summer, with the capture of Benni McCarthy. The other candidates must surely be Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez, which perfectly demonstrates the point I want to make. One or two individual managers saw as early as last season that the Premier League was a league without strikers. With Van Nistelrooy gone, all it took was for Henry to get injured and Shevchenko to be crap, and Drogba had the goalscoring charts to himself. Little wonder then, that Blackburn were many people’s surprise team of the season, that Berbatov found himself linked to Man U (as Van Nistelrooy’s potential replacement) and that Tevez finished up there, after saving West Ham single handedly.
Those managers who bought strikers last season were by and large rewarded, with other, less spectacular (but still notable) contributions from the likes of Johnson and Martins. The majority of strikers bought last summer – excluding the “best of them all” Shevchenko – made major contributions to their clubs. But mostly, these clubs were the same old suspects. Spurs, Everton, Newcastle…the bigger clubs in the league who tend to have goalscorers envied by others. Blackburn were unique in that they tried to break into that group by bringing in a man who could win games on his own. They tested the theory that good, organised teamwork will only get you so far without a class act to put the ball in the net. McCarthy worked his magic and saved Blackburn’s season, whilst the likes of Man City, Fulham, Sheffield United, Watford, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth etc could only watch on and wish they’d thought of following suit.
Well this season they bloody well have done. The promoted teams have all splashed out on potential goalscorers, as have teams like Middlesbrough and Fulham that many tip for the drop. Taking the McCarthy-Blackburn example (and I know not all of them will reach that goal tally, but still…) if even half of these new strikers perform to his standards then how many of their clubs will be surprising us on a weekly basis? With the exception of Derby, I don’t see a side in the Premiership without a potential match winner in their squad, many of them brought in this summer.
Surely then, the age of a striker-less Premier League is dead. The age of Lampard, Gerrard and Ronaldo battling with a solitary striker at the top of the goalscoring charts is dead. The age of Portsmouth – Man City being a crappy 0-0 draw that you wouldn’t watch if it was being played in your garden is well and truly dead.
Long live the age of strikers, and the age of goals – we could be in for a cracker of a season.
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And You Thought West Ham Was Dodgy...
Liverpool's opponents in the Champions League qualifier, FC Toulouse, are appearing in this season's competition following a controversy that makes the Tevez-Mascherano affair look clear cut and tame. I wouldn't have thought such a thing possible, until I read the whole sordid tale.
It's the penultimate game of the season, and Toulouse, in 5th, are away to Nantes, who need a win to stay up. It's 0-0 in the 87th minute, and frankly, Nantes are s**t. As you can imagine, the home fans aren't happy bunnies, this was a side in Europe themselves not so long ago. Cue an angry French pitch invasion by the soon to be relegated Nantes fans, forcing the game to be abandoned with 3 or 4 minutes to go. Presumably this was some sort of organised protest, so comprehensive was the invasion, although it could just have easily been a mass attempt to attack their "heroes".
To be fair to Toulouse, they were totally blameless in the situation, their fans weren't involved, and the players left the pitch. However, this is where the sanity ends.
The French FA, in debating what should happen to the remainder of the match, decide not to replay those last few minutes. That's fair enough, there doesn't seem much point in getting everyone together again in Nantes for a 3 minute kickabout. Bizzarely though, they award 3 points to Toulouse. I repeat - the game was 0-0 at the time. Nantes are down, and Toulouse are awarded a 1-0 win. An own goal by the Nantes "12th man" no doubt.
Following the final game of the season, Toulouse finished in a Champions League spot, with 58 points. Rennes, Lens, Bordeaux, and Sochaux all finished on 57. Those extra 2 points, given for a goal they didn't score, got Toulouse not only a European spot, but a Champions League one. Had the invasion not happened, they wouldn't even be in the UEFA Cup.
Can you imagine for just a minute how you'd feel if you were a Rennes, or a Bordeaux fan? Sheffield United would have sued everybody in the Nantes end, presumably. The lesson to learn from this is twofold: Liverpool should qualify with ease (and have no excuse not to), and for all the Premier League appeared like total jackasses over the whole West Ham/MSI affair, it could be a hell of a lot worse.
At least we're not French.
4 comments:
berbatov has started v poorly and so have tottenham they noe sit botton after 2 games and berbatov has let me down for my fantasy football team and left me cursing the fact i havent picked someone like martins or drogba, martin jol said spurs have to focus on defending this season but wheres the defending conceding against the mackems an 3 at home against everton and nonoe of ur top strikers scoring, berbatov hit the post but thats the only chance any of them had worth noting spurs could be in trouble if jol doesnt sort it and ps jenas is still shit how did we get 9mill for him!
Hahaha, do you feel better now that anti-tottenham rant is off your chest? They're fucking shite aren't they?
I'll be writing a piece about how shit spurs are in the next day or two - Berbatov will feature heavily.
Andy S
my other tips for top scorer are kevin doyle. first choice, penalty taker, plucky team who had a decent start. 100-1, so 33-1 is cracking each way value for top 3. same goes for Healy at 150-1.....
That's an excellent call on Kevin Doyle. If we're talking about strikers who can have the "McCarthy effect", then I should have mentioned him too. He certainly had it for Reading last season, and but for his injury, the article might have been all about Doyle and how bringing in cheap Irish lads is the way to go!
Sund(I)erland for the title then? Cheap Irish lads accounts for about half the squad!
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