I have absolutely
no sympathy for the current struggles that the Spanish giants Real Madrid are
currently facing. Defeat to local rivals Atletico Madrid at the weekend leaves
them an insurmountable 12 points behind the league leaders. A strategy that prioritises
marketing and revenue ahead of producing an effective football philosophy will
never bring sustained success.
Florentino Prerez’s
obsession with the “galactico” model which has previously seen him build a side
of superstars such as Zidanne, Figo and Ronaldo, may please the fans (for a while)
but as long as they continue to ignore the equally important pieces of the
jigsaw, they will never produce teams that have the stamina or consistency to
be able to challenge for league titles consistently. Winning competition with a
tournament format will continue to be their best hope of success. The closest
they have come in recent years to overcoming these problems was with Jose when
he built a solid and balanced squad with the correct blend of players to last
the pace but we all know what happened to him in the end!
Another reason I have no sympathy and something that makes me angry is the
decision to sack Rafa earlier this season. The spoiled fans have no patience
and never give any manager time to build a side. The way Rafa was treat by
Perez and Madrid is disgusting and epitomises the massive political issues at
the club. Their decision to appoint Zidanne as the manager is another terrible
mistake, appointed on the popularity and success during his time as a player is
ridiculous. The results have not improved and apart from a couple of home games
where they have turned over their opponents with an all-out attack approach
neither have their performances. The fact remains that until they sort out
these systemic issues at the football club, they will continue to underachieve.
Kilmarnock have signed former
Real Madrid winger Julien Faubert after a trial. Faubert had spent time on trial in Perth before joining Kilmarnock to
become Lee Clark's first signing as Rugby Park boss.
The former France international
had been linked with a move to Rangers in 2007 before joining West Ham for £6m.
Despite playing for France in 2006, Faubert was able to switch allegiances and
play for Martinique in 2014 and has five goals in three games for his adopted nation.
The winger becomes the third player to have played for Real Madrid's first
team before moving to Scotland after Celtic's Thomas Graveson and Livingston's
Rolando Zarate.
Faubert
and co will have to pick up points and fast in their quest to stay in the SPFL.
Killie currently sit in the relegation play-off position 8 points ahead of
bottom placed Dundee United who are starting to find form with back to back
wins over high flying Hearts and Ross County. I feel that although Killie’s
league position is poor they have improved since the departure of manager Garry
Locke, which has generated optimism amongst fans.
Killie
can only realistically catch Hamilton or Motherwell to avoid the relegations
play offs which would lightly be a 2 legged tie against Hibs who have been
impressive in the Championship this year and have beaten SPFL sides in the domestic
cups. Alan Stubbs’s side would be favourites to beat Killie in a play-off
situation which makes the run in so important for killie, they will be looking
for a bit of luck with favourable fixtures when the league splits next month.
In the meantime Clarkes men must turn all attention to Ross County at
Rugby Park on Tuesday night in which is surely a must not lose. With County off
the back of a 3-0 loss to bottom placed United it’s all to play for.
The last 16
Europa league draw threw up some interesting ties that certainly neutrals will
be happy with. The two stand out ties in my view are Dortmund v Spurs and of
course the old enemies Liverpool playing Manchester United. Another interesting
tie is an all-Spanish
Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, the two are also due to
meet this weekend in La Liga.
Fenerbache and
Braga will both feel they have a great opportunity of making the last 8 with
two of probably the weaker teams in the last 16 draw facing each other.
Villarreal who knocked out the tournament favourites Napoli last night have a
tricky couple of games against Bayern Leverkusen who will be a very tough test.
I expect some
really enjoyable games from these fixtures and perhaps even an upset or two. I
feel Spurs have a genuine chance against Dortmund in a fixture that wouldn’t look
out of place in the Champions league given the quality of the sides. Mo Po has
Spurs playing some great energetic high pressing football with a nucleus of
youth that seem to have no fear and are showing no signs of slowing down in
their busy fixture list.
So the sides I’m
tipping to progress to the quarter finals are Shakhtar Donesk, Seville,
Villarreal, Manchester United, Lazio, Spurs and Braga. As with all cup
competitions and especially tournaments with a format that include the away
goal rule, you just never know what might happen, I wouldn’t be at all
surprised to see this round producing extra time and penalty kicks considering
how closely matched some of the teams are.
Shaktar Donesk v Anderlecht
Basel v Sevilla
Villarreal v Bayern Leverkusen
Athletic Bilbao v Valencia
Liverpool v Manchester United
Sparta Prague v Lazio
Dortmund v Tottenham
Fenerbahche v Braga
The past two Scottish Cup winners are paired together in the pick of the ties. The match will
be played at Blair park, date is tbc.
The draw in full
Beith v
Arthurlie
Kilwinning
Rangers v Camelon/Kelty
Hurlford
United v Auchinleck Talbot
Pollock v
Kilbirnie Ladeside
Newport County AFC are looking
for a Finance Manager to join the Club’s management team, catering for the
day-to-day requirements of the business.
The ideal candidate should be
proficient with the Club’s accounting software, performing general accounting
tasks to suit the needs of the business. Furthermore, we are looking for
someone with the ability and drive to focus on financial aspects of all departments
within the business with a view to generating additional revenue and making
appropriate cost savings.
The closing date for all applications will beFriday
4th March 2016. All applications to include a CV and covering letter
should be directed to accounts@newport-county.co.uk.
6 La Liga clubs participating in European competitions
won their first leg ties over the past 2 weeks and Athletico Madrid drew 0-0. This
underlining the fact that La Liga is the strongest league in Europe (and not
just according to UEFA coefficient ranking). Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and
Barcelona all won away from home while Villarreal, Valencia and Seville
recorded impressive home wins. Before I go into the Spanish games individually,
I have to say that I really enjoyed the Europa League and Champions league
first leg ties, the quality of the teams in both competitions is high and the
games were full of both quality and excitement which can at times
understandably be absent in cagey first leg games.
AS Roma 0 – 2
Real Madrid
Roma started without their most natural goal threat Edin
Dzeko in favour of packing the midfield with numbers and energy. The Italians
biggest threat throughout the night was the former Chelsea players Salah who’s
pace did cause problems for Madrid’s right back Danni Carvajal and right sided
centre back Sergio Ramos. With Roma opting for legs over experience by leaving
veterans De Rossi and Totti on the bench, their game plan did work as they
dropped off as Madrid as expected dominated positions. Although they were
retaining and recycling the ball effectively the effectiveness of their probing
was limited with Marcelo arguably their most creating attacking force. Second
half Roma tried to play further forward and exert pressure on the ball but were
undone just before the hour mark as Ronaldo got in behind their back line and
scored after much unfair criticism regarding him not scoring in 4 consecutive
away games. Madrid’s academy graduate Jesse added a second minutes before the
end, taking advantage of some awful defending as the Roma back 4 backed off and
backed off before Jesse drove the ball low into the far corner.
Valencia 6- 0
Rapid Wien
Garry Neville made several changes from the team that
helped him secure his first La Liga victory just days before the game. In all
honesty this game was a non-contest with Valencia proving far too strong for
the Austrian League leaders, being 5-0 up in 35mins. Rapid Vienna boss Zoran
Barisic substituted his experienced captain Steffen Hoffman before half time, I
suppose he was making a point to his players that the performance was not
acceptable, but to be honest he could have given any one of the 11 players the
hook with some justification. A combination of Rapid being more solid after the
break and Valencia mercifully taking their foot of the gas, meant they added
just one more goal to the rout.
Arsenal 0- 2
Barcelona
Although Barcelona dominated possession and dictated the
tempo of the game at the Emiretes, I’m giving special praise to Arsene Wenger
for in my opinion getting his tactics spot on. Arsenal defended narrow, closed
the space in the right areas, dropped off in the right areas and were mostly
comfortable in the first half. Second half was more of the same from Wengers
men and but for a couple of lapses in concentration from their German captain
they may have got a result. The difficulty with playing at team like Barcelona
is that as soon as you move your defensive and midfield lines forward your
vulnerable to the incredible pace and precision at which they can break with. I
don't give Arsenal a chance in the return leg.
Elsewhere Villarreal beat tournament favorites Napoli 1-0
in a close game which could have gone either way, this tie is too close to call
and is perfectly poised. Seville who seems to be winning the Europa league more
times than you can keep count, will consider themselves to have one foot in the
last 16 with a comprehensive win over Ole Solskjaer's FK Molde.
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