Are We Getting A Genuine 3 Horse Race?

Do you remember when we were ruining football?  We were the scourge of the Premier League, lambasted by the media in all corners for our 'immoral' and 'disgusting' spending, well we aren't alone any more, because Roman Abramovich has opened his cheque book again, and this time not just to pay off another manager.  In fact if they finalise the 2 deals they are currently working on, they will have spent more than us in the last 2 years, who'd have thought it?!


Of course spending at Chelsea never really stopped like the media would have you believe, they did however curb their spending somewhat, and at the same time we were spending £18M on Roque Santa Cruz and paying Wayne Bridge £100k a week!  The main result of the 'reduced' spending at Stamford Bridge was their first finish outside of the top 4 for 9 years.  In a very strange twist of fate however there lowest finish since 2002 coincided with them winning the one prize they have missed out on, and the one prize they have wanted more than any other, the Champions League.

Had Abramovich and his merry men slipped up in Munich the club would have been in real trouble, sustaining their wage bill without the income from the Champions League this coming season would have been close to impossible.  On top of that, they would have found it frustratingly difficult to recruit new players, as we found in our initial wave of spending immediately after Sheikh Mansour took control.  Attracting top players without the promise of Champions League football is incredibly difficult.


Things didn't quite pan out that way, and even though I should have been supporting Chelsea that night against Bayern, I hold my hands up and admit that if they had lost I wouldn't have been overly upset.  Not because of any particular dislike for the London club, but just because it was apparent that should they win and gain Champions League entry through the back door, it would mean another team for us to compete with in the transfer market.  The landscape of football in England wouldn't have been massively different, but it would have taken Chelsea a few years to get back to where they were, where as now, with this increased spending they are demonstrating you have to admit they should be right back in the title race next season.

It is hard to put a finger on exactly what was wrong with them domestically this season, I suppose the simplest explanation is that AVB was brought in to revolutionise the Chelsea set up and was not given the time to do so, and by side lining experience and promoting youth he got the club into a really dire situation.  Then latterly when Lampard, Drogba and Terry were reinstated caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo did not try to battle on 2 fronts, he put all his eggs in the Champions League basket, resting important players in league games to ensure they were fresh for their European adventure and in the end you simply can't fault the approach, it worked.


Now as we look to next season, their success is impacting on City already.  It may not be set in stone yet, but it appears a near certainty that the paperwork and necessary medicals will soon be completed to confirm Belgian Eden Hazard as a Chelsea player; before their showdown with Munich it appeared City were hot favourites to land the 21 year old with competition from Manchester United.  However, as soon as the London club ensured their place amongst Europe's elite, the landscape changed, they were willing to pay the exorbitant agent fee's that we were rightly haggling over and they could offer the player all he wanted, so we missed out.

If the transfer rumour mill is to be believed they are also close to landing Porto forward Hulk in a deal worth £38M on top of the £32M they paid for Hazard, and the spending doesn't stop there, they are looking at making a move for Ajax right back Gregory van der Wiel, a deal that would cost around £9M to pull off.  Let's not forget before last season ended they agreed a fee of £7M to sign Marko Marin from Werder Bremin, reigned in spending this is not.


Clearly as Manchester City supporters, we cannot criticise their outlay but we can see how it could affect us going forward, should all their transfers come off, their starting 11 next season could look a little something like this: 

Then with players like van der Wiel, Marin, Terry, Sturridge, Malouda, Mikel, Essien, Meireles, Lukaku on the bench it becomes clear that they have a squad not just a team, and an incredible strong and dangerous squad at that.

Obviously we can compete, our front 4 is still better I would argue, our defense is superior and i'd much rather have Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry (or even Javi Martinez) over Ramires and Lampard but the gap will clearly have closed.  It seems to be expected that Ferguson will spend this Summer to keep Manchester United there or there abouts, but on the evidence of this season, even if he didn't spend he'd still get his perhaps average team performing at a much higher level than many would expect.

Clearly the losers in all of this are either Spurs or Arsenal, if RVP does depart North London (maybe for a move to the blue side of Manchester) they could be in a little bit of trouble, and a top 4 of City, Chelsea, Spurs and United would have a fresh look to it.  This potential challenge from London though is something that I am pleased with, when City first got the investment I said it was good because it would stop the league from stagnating, there was an extra team to compete, and as much as i'd love City to win the league every year (something I wouldn't put past us), 3 teams slugging it out for the title could be a great thing, even better if it were 4, but lets not get ahead of ourselves!

The approach Chelsea are taking is clearly not a patient one, it is worth remembering they are still manager-less, and a bad decision there could derail them even with their potentially much improved pool of players, but if they get that choice right, and if they do manage to finalise these deals they will be a real force to be reckoned with, I say bring it on!

A Rallying Cry To City Fans

I think it is fair to say that most City fans today are disappointed, I certainly am.  It was always going to be a bit of a lottery getting out of our Champions League group, but other than our visit to Munich I genuinely believe we made a good fist of it.  Our haul of 10 points should have seen us through, even before a ball was kick that was the figure that Roberto Mancini said would be enough.


The facts are though that it wasn't, and I don't think anyone thought that Villareal would end the group stage with no points, before the first round of matches it was assumed they would take points of someone, hopefully for us Napoli, and if they had managed that we would have gone through.  It now seems remarkable that the Spanish team were seeded 2nd in our group with the extremely dangerous Italians 4th.

Now though our attention turns to the other European competition, the ugly sister of the glamorous and glitzy Champions League, the Europa League is ready and waiting for us.  Thoughts seem to be mixed on the competition, some have said it is a good opportunity for our second string, and gives our first team a chance to rest up rather than playing 2 games each week.  I am not so sure that personally I would go along with this.


As I was driving away from Eastlands last night, I was listening to various Manchester United fans acting as if the sky was falling and the world was ending, one even suggested Ferguson should leave his post at Old Trafford.  This ridiculous over reaction was followed by a call from a City fan, sadly I do not remember her name, but she spoke sense.  She quite simply said the Europa League is a trophy, and we are capable of winning it, so lets go for it.  As we all know we haven't won a lot these last 35 years, so why should we turn our nose up at a competitive trophy, especially a European one.

It appears that Roberto Mancini sees the tournament similarly, and hopefully we will give it our best.    The Thursday/Sunday games are annoying, but it is not the end of the world, my understanding is that it is a similar amount of games in both competitions from this point therefore if we were happy to play twice a week in the Champions League, why not in this competition?


Clearly we have a squad capable of winning the it, our strongest competition will come from our neighbours but really they are nothing to fear any more.  Therefore I urge everyone to get behind the team, and lets try and go all the way in this, its another trophy and we shouldn't look down on any competition victory in my mind, and most importantly of all, it is probably our last chance to win it, since we won't ever play in it again.....

We Have To Drop The Knee Jerk Reactions...

It is worth remembering that when the draw was made for our Champions League group Napoli were seeded 4th, the powers that be at UEFA had deemed they were one of the weakest 8 teams in the competition.  Villareal who currently sit bottom in the group with 0 points were seeded 2nd, this was never going to be an ordinary group, and although the term 'group of death' is sometimes thrown about unnecessarily, it was definitely appropriate in our case.


We currently sit on 7 points with one game to play with Napoli one point ahead in 2nd.  The simple facts are this, if we beat Bayern Munich in their final game, and they fail to beat Villareal in Spain we will qualify, that however seems to be somewhat of a pipe dream.  The way Napoli attack, and considering the lifeless fight the Spanish team put up against us, it is more or less impossible to imagine anything other than a victory for the Italian team meaning whatever we manage against Bayern is inconsequential.  

Victory over Munich would leave us on 10 points, and should Napoli get the win they need we would finish in 3rd and become the first team in the history of the competition to fail to escape the group stage with that points hall.  When we began this process Roberto Mancini himself stated that 10 points was our aim and that it would be enough to see us progress.  That underlines that our European campaign has been in no way a disaster, we can stand back and say that to only take a point at home to Napoli was disappointing, and that our performance in Munich was poor, but should we get victory in our final game I think we can be fairly satisfied with our work overall.


There were a few things wrong last night, I don't think Mancini got it right in the full back region again and he also left his substitutions until too late in the day but ultimately we were beaten by a team who played better than we did, the Italians were superb.

We have not been as dreadful in the Champions League as the reaction from some fans would have you believe, and in fact my biggest frustration last night and this morning was because of the negativity from the clubs supporters as opposed to the actual result.  I would never criticise City fans, they have been loyal through thick and thin, but the knee jerk reactions from some last night was not good to see.  I wrote at the start of the season about the importance of keeping our feet on the ground, but that is hard to do when you are enjoying the high quality of football we have been playing this season, but it remains extremely important.


We do not have a divine right to win every game, we used to criticise Manchester United fans for possessing that attitude and now we are demonstrating it ourselves.  In the last 10 years we have come a long way, the changes have been exciting and thrilling, and this is just the start, but let's not forget where we are coming from.  So we are probably out of the Champions League at the first hurdle, is it such a big deal? Of course it isn't.

If you just take our league form into account, the expectation level amongst some supporters is too high, I have seen comments such as "Oh well, out of the Champions League, but now we will go and batter Liverpool", now, we might beat Liverpool comfortably, but I highly doubt it, and I would take a point.  Some may call it negativity, I choose to call it realism.  We have been superb this term, but there is going to be bumps in the road, there will be a rocky spell, there is a chance we won't win the league, after-all it is only November, will I mind if we finish 2nd? Maybe for a short time, but it won't last, we will have finished as runners up in the Premier League, if you were offered that at the start of the season you would have taken it happily!


Some City fans expect us to win the league now, they say the only acceptable end to the season after crashing out of the Champions League is to win the domestic title.  I cannot understand that mindset, I admire the confidence and positivity, but I also worry that our explosive start to the season has created waves of false confidence to spread amongst our supporters.  If we lose to Liverpool on Sunday, will people be saying we've blown it and that we are having a poor season, will the few numpties calling for Mancini to go pipe up again?  I hope not, but I suspect there will be a whole new wave of knee jerk over the top reactions.

To use the old adage, Rome wasn't built in a day, we are making great progress, and playing some fantastic football, would finishing second and not winning a trophy be the worst thing?  It obviously wouldn't, lets not get greedy and expect it all to fall into place right away, lets just enjoy the ride, we know where we are going and there is no hurry to get there!

Will The Tevez Saga Galvanise Us or Tear Us Apart?

Is there really anything left to say about the little ponce?  As we all know Carlos Tevez refused to pull on the blue shirt last night something that we would all do for nothing, and would love to do for, oh say, £200k a week.


My biggest fear with the whole situation though is the effect it could have on Roberto Mancini, and how it could affect his position as manager.  Bobby told the press in no uncertain terms that the Argentine striker would never play for Manchester City again on his watch, it was a big statement and one that as fans I expect we would all go along with, what about the financial implications though?

I am no economics whizz-kid, in fact I would go as far as to say I am clueless on the topic, but I am not sure realistically what the club can do.  If money was no object, he would be put in the reserves for the length of his contract and just left there to rot, but with the impending FFP rules that sadly is not an option.  The player may claim otherwise, but I don't believe that we have treated him badly, we bent over backwards for him this Summer and made attempts to move him on, we even signed a replacement in Sergio Aguero, but there was simply no realistic buyers.


I think the chances of this changing in January are slim to none, especially given last nights pathetic display of childishness.  My biggest fear is that Mancini may be forced to accept this mornings pathetic apology from the player, he may claim it was a mistake, and a misunderstanding, and that his mental state wasn't right, but does anyone believe that tosh?  He makes the point that on the pitch he always gives his all, and I wouldn't debate this, but getting him onto the field now appears to be a challenge, so what does that matter?

If the Italian is forced to welcome Tevez back into the first team squad, I can see him walking.  He has spoken of wanting total control before, but in the modern game that is difficult.  With FFP, decisions have to be made by CEO's, owners and Irene the tea lady.  I do think the manager should have the last word, and I agree Tevez should be alienated, but how well that will go down with the money men I am unsure.


The best solution to me would seem to be convinced the player to buy himself out of his contract, that would allow the club to move on and receive a substantial sum of money from the player, Mancini would get his wish, and Tevez would no longer be an issue, going back to my limited knowledge of football clubs I am unsure as to how this could or even if it would work.

On the more positive side of things, if a deal is agreed and the board are seen to be backing the manager it could turn into a real plus, the events of last night could galvanise the team and bring them together.  Obviously it could go the other way and the squad could tear itself apart, but with the positive attitude that MOST players seem to be exhibiting a definitive stance from the board to back the manager could really help City in the long run, and lets be honest, that is what we all want.


Forza Mancini, lets get behind him, the club and everyone that is pulling in the right direction, the blue moon will continue to rise, hopefully without Tevez.

City V Napoli Report

After all the build up, the night we have all been waiting for finally came, and what a night it was.  It was emotional, exciting, thrilling and slightly disappointing all rolled into one.  We have been building towards the Champions League since the day that ADUG bought the club and last night the dream was realised, and for spells of the game we looked more than capable of mixing it at the highest level of club football, unfortunately there were also periods where we looked slightly overawed by the occasion.


As 'that' music built to a crescendo I think we all had high expectations, personally I felt it was a game that we had to win to get out of what is clearly going to be a particularly brutal group for the 4 teams involved.  I was very aware of the talents of the Italian side but I must now admit to be surprised by just how good they actually were, their attacking trio of Hamsik, Lavezzi and Cavani caused problems, but the more noticeable thing for me was just how organised and defensively astute they were.  For the majority of the game they were barraged by City attacks which they managed to repel repeatedly.

The first half saw City firmly on top, driven on by a superb atmosphere they flew out of the traps and created numerous chances in the opening period.  Nasri, Aguero, Silva and Dzeko were reunited as the front 4 and Napoli had to work hard to contain the effervescent attacking play.  Richards and Clichy were surprisingly omitted in favour of Zabaleta and Kolarov, it was a decision that I am not sure ultimately helped the team.  The width provided by the former 2 was sadly absent, the attacking threat of the South American and the Serb sadly not as impressive.  I suppose the thinking is that they would offer more defensively, but in a game we really needed to win I am not sure it was the correct decision.


City carved out a flurry of good chances, Dzeko saw a shot somewhere miss the far post, Toure slammed the crossbar with perhaps the best chance of the half.  We also caused problems from corners with Dzeko again seeing a header flash wide.  The only chance the Italians had was to be fair a pretty awesome effort, as Ezequiel Lavezzi turned away from Kompany and curled a wonderful effort past Hart only to see it crash against the crossbar.  It is credit to City that Napoli didn't even play badly and yet at half time they had been under immense pressure, which they had stood up too extremely well.

The second half was a bit of a different story, whether City were running out of idea's or Napoli decided to push out more, they were much more involved.  Our defense began to be put under more pressure and worryingly they didn't handle it particularly well, Kompany in particular seemed to not be on top of his game and made a few errors that lead to opportunities for the Serie A side.  The opening goal came from another City move that perhaps saw us over commit somewhat, Gareth Barry pushed a long way up the field and tried an out of character back heel in an attempt to find Nasri it never got to its destination however, Christian Maggio raced onto the loose ball and flew through the worryingly empty centre of the field before he fed the ball to Cavani who slotted the ball cooly past Hart to give the visiting side the lead.  It was a goal that had been coming in the second half, and proved that just one mistake will be pounced on in this competition.  

City to their credit rallied well and became more urgent, but they still seemed to lack the cutting edge that they couldn't find in the first half either, they were patient and worked some nice passing triangles but were unable to pick their way through the defense.  5 mins after Napoli had taken the lead, we were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, at perfect range for Kolarov, he curled the ball beautifully into the net and brought the teams level, it was nothing more than they deserved.  The game then went into overdrive with both sides trading blows and to be fair it could have been snatched by either team, both threw the kitchen sink at it and City had a great chance to take a win with Sergio Aguero meeting a cross to only turn it against the bar, it was extremely unlucky.


It is only fair to point out that City weren't particularly bad, but they also weren't allowed to be at their best, a draw was probably a fair result on the balance of 90mins but really we should have taken one or two of our other chances that would have secured a victory.  Napoli to their credit were excellent, they defended well and countered with pace and precision, they will provide a really stern test for Bayern.  As for us, next is a trip to the Allianz Arena which clearly will be incredibly difficult, a victory blows the group wide open, but i'd probably take a point.

What of the individual performers, lets see how it broke down:


Joe Hart: 6 - Nothing he could really do with the goal, looked nervous at times but remained in control when some of those in front of him seemed to be struggling.


Pablo Zabaleta: 6 - Full of energy and his work rate was excellent, he was willing but didn't really manage to offer anything offensively meaning we were woefully short of width at times.  Battled hard and defended reasonably well however.


Vincent Kompany: 6 - Not one of his better performances at all, looks lost at times.  He did make one excellent clearance off the line but was at fault on several attacks and could perhaps have done better at times.


Joleon Lescott: 7 - Maybe I am in the minority but I thought he had a decent game, should have done better with a header in the second half, but defensively he was sound and every high ball that came forward he won, his positioning wasn't perfect but he battled very hard.


Aleksandar Kolarov: 6 - A mixed night, as with Zabaleta he was rarely a threat coming forward but immense for playing a long time with a broken nose.  He was willing and showed more effort than normal.  The free kick he dispatched for our equaliser was superb and he deserves much credit for that.


Gareth Barry: 5 - He didn't really perform that badly for the most part but his catastrophic error in the second half lead directly to the goal we conceded.  He began solidly, holding his position well, but as the game went on he got sucked too far up field and it cost us.


Yaya Toure: 7 - Struggled to get involved as an attacking threat, but mopped up extremely well.  He worked hard and snuffed out many attacks using his power and experience to great effect, he was also incredibly unlucky to not give City the lead early on after a superb sweeping attack.


David Silva: 6 - Sadly there was no sparkle from the Spaniard who was snuffed out by an extremely organised Napoli defensive unit.  He was counter acted by the denial of space there was no room for him to operate and sadly that made it difficult for the whole team.


Sergio Aguero: 6 - As with Silva there was just no space for the Argentine to play in, unlucky not to score late on when he hit the bar.  Credit goes to him for the endeavour that he showed but there was just not enough room for him to operate to the best of his ability, too often came deep and wide for the ball.


Samir Nasri: 5 - Probably suffered the most from the lack of space outside the Napoli area, his delivery at times was lacking and he was involved in the mistake made for their goal, on another day more would have come off for the Frenchman but it wasn't a great day at the office for the new boy.


Edin Dzeko: 7 - Continued his good form sadly though without adding to his goal tally, he looked like a real threat early on and his touch and poise made him very hard to handle for the opposition defense, saw a couple of shots whistle narrowly wide and perhaps shouldn't have been subbed for Tevez.


Substitutes


Adam Johsnon: 7 - Added real impetus when he came on and offered something really different, the Italians didn't know how to deal with him and his introduction should have come much earlier.


Gael Clichy: 6 - Attacked with passion and verve, should have started the game to add the width we sadly missed for the majority.


Carlos Tevez: 5 - I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he still doesn't look fit and ready, but time is running out on that excuse.

Tough to call a man of the match really, because no one really shone that much more than anyone else, for the most part everyone did a good job, but were inhibited by some fantastic defending, but for all round game i'd probably plump for Yaya Toure. He did well in the new role that is he doing for the club, worked well defensively and his experience of the competition was clear to see, he also attacked well and picked the right times to do so.  Went incredibly close to netting in the first half after a barnstorming run, Toure could be vital in our ongoing quest in the Champions League.  

Champions League 11/12 Preview - Group F

Group F

Arsenal FC

Last season:

4th Premiership
Champions League, round of 16
Carling Cup runners-up

Manager: Arsene Wenger

Key Man: Robin Van Persie

Stadium: Emirates, capacity 60,361



Arsenal has finally put a summer of turmoil behind them, which saw them lose their talismanic captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona. Arsene Wenger responded by spending £50 million on nine new players this summer to add depth to his squad. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond, and whether the staggering amount of injuries could make the group difficult to navigate. Arsenal overcame Udinese in a tricky two-legged tie in the qualifying round.

I had Jack Wilshere at the club’s key player, but due to his ankle injury, he won’t feature in any of the group matches, a big miss. New signings Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun will look to impress for their new club at the highest level.

Best Starting XI:



Olympiacos FC

Last season:

1st Greek Super League
Europa League third qualifying round

Manager: Ernesto Valverde

Key Man: Kevin Miralles

Stadium: Karaiskakis, capacity 33,334



In a same group as Arsenal two years ago, Olympicos qualified ahead of AZ Alkmaar and Standard Liege, and also beat Arsenal 1-0 on their way. The Greek side are coming off a successful league campaign last season where they won the title by 13 clear points, and conceded 18 goals in 30 matches.

Best Starting XI:



Olympique de Marseille

Last season:

2nd Ligue 1
Coupe de la Ligue winners
Trophee des Champions winners
Champions League, round of 16

Manager: Didier Deschamps

Key Man: Loic Remy

Stadium: Stade Velodrome, capacity 60,031



Didier Deschamps’ side has an array of attacking individuals in his starting line up, and young exciting players from the bench. It would seem Marseille are strong in knockout matches, collecting two domestic trophies last season. They’ll look to improve on their round of 16 finish, losing to eventual finalists Manchester United last year.

Best Starting XI:



Borussia Dortmund

Last season:

1st Bundesliga
Europa League group stage

Manager: Jurgen Klopp

Key Man: Mario Gotze

Stadium: Signal Iduna Park, capacity 80,720



Dortmund returned to the summit of German football, winning their first domestic title for nine years. Manager Jurgen Klopp had the Black and Yellows playing some sensational attacking football which blew their opponents away. Not to discredit their defence either, the likes of Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels saw them only concede 22 goals, the best defensive record in the league.

They’ve lost one of their best players; Nuri Sahin to Real Madrid, but still has undoubtedly quality in Mario Gotze and Shinji Kagawa in midfield, and Lucas Barrios up front. A tough team, and could run out group winners.

Best Starting XI:

Champions League 11/12 Preview - Group C

Group C

Manchester United FC

Last season:

1st Premiership

Champions League runners-up

Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson

Key Man: Wayne Rooney

Stadium: Old Trafford, Capacity 75,975



Manchester United continued their domination of English football by winning their 19th league title, and progressing to their third Champions League final in four years. Sir Alex Ferguson finally has his United challenging for major European honours on a yearly basis, with nothing less expected than reaching the latter stages of the Champions League.

Man United have replaced outgoing experienced, established stars, with energetic, exciting and enthusiastic youth. De Gea has replaced Van Der Sar in goal, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones in defence, Tom Cleverly and Ashley Young in midfield, and Danny Welbeck with Javier Hernandez up front.

Expected United to be challenging once again.

Best Starting XI:



FC Basel 1893

Last season:

1st Swiss Super League

Europa League, round of 32

Uhren Cup

Manager: Thorsten Fink

Key Man: Yann Sommer

Stadium: St. Jacob Park, Capacity 38,500



The 14 times Swiss Super League winners make their return to the Champions’ League group stages after gaining automatic qualification thanks to their Super League title. This Basel side boast five full Swiss national first team players (more than any other club), as well of two of the most promising players in Europe; midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri and goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Also keep an eye on Swiss legend and goal machine Alexander Frei, who has 46 goals in 61 appearances for the club.

Best Starting XI:



FC Otelul Galati

Last season:

1st Romanian Liga I

Supercupa Romaniei

Manager: Dorinel Munteanu

Key Man: Sergiu Costin

Stadium: Otelul, 13,500



Champions League new boys, Galati is a town on the west coast of Romania, Otelul is the main football club and last year’s Romanian league champions (the first time in their history). Similar to many other football fans, I don’t know too much about the Romanian side, but there are two web pages with have a little more details on the obscurely known club.

Best Starting XI:



SL Benfica

Last season:

2nd Primeira Liga

League Cup

Champions League, Group stage

Europa League, Semi-finals

Manager: Jorge Jesus

Key Man: Oscar Cardozo

Stadium: Estadio de Luiz, Capacity 65,647



Benfica had a frustrating season last year, falling short on both the domestic and European front. They finished miles behind Andres Villas-Boas’ Porto side in the league and they lost to eventual Europa League finalists SC Braga in the semi-finals last season, beating Paris Saint Germain, PSV and Stuttgart en route.

They’ve lost one of their best players in Fabio Coentrao to Real Madrid, but signed midfielder Axel Witsel, left backs Emerson and Joan Capdevila, centre-back Ezequiel Garay and winger Enzo Perez to add to a very good squad. Benfica beat FC Twente 5-3 on aggregate in the Champions League play-offs.

Best Starting XI:

Arthur – Emerson, Luisao, Garay, Maxi Pereira – Javi Garcia, Witsel, Aimar – Gaita, Nolito, Cardozo

Arsenal vs. Barcelona – A Great Contest or A Gulf In Class?

Last night Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League after a enthralling and tiring two legged battle with the side widely regarded as the best team in the world.

The first leg took place just over three weeks ago, with Arsenal coming from a goal down to beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Emirates.

Since then, Arsenal played 5 matches, drawing with Sunderland and Leyton Orient, and then subsequently thumping Orient in a Cup replay. They also beat tricky opponents Stoke, and infamously lost the Carling Cup final to Birmingham City. In the lead up to the return leg in Spain, Arsenal’s form was out of sorts, with one eye was seemingly focused on this game during these domestic games.

As for Barcelona, they played four domestic matches, winning all four. They beat two very tough opponents in Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, while achieving mandatory victories over RCD Mallorca and Real Zaragoza. This would give them perfect momentum heading into the tie.

On the night, in which I’m sure you have all seen by now, Barcelona won 3-1 on the night (4-3 on aggregate) thanks to two goals from star man Lionel Messi, and a goal from Xavi Hernandez. Arsenal’s only goal came through a Sergio Busquets own goal.

Reading the score line, one would assume that the game was a close tie, however the stats would suggest otherwise as Barcelona were dominant, occupying 69% of possession, leaving Arsenal with a season low 31%. Barcelona also had 20 attempts on goal, while Arsenal couldn’t muster a single attempt on or off target. Barca subsequently ran out deserved winners.



Where did it go wrong for Arsenal?

I mentioned the term “stage fright” before Arsenal’s 2-1 Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham City. I was concerned that because the players hadn’t played in a final for some while, the lack of experienced individuals throughout the team would struggle to impose themselves on their opposition. This for me was the reason they lost they Carling Cup final, and were unable to deal with the pressure tactics used by Birmingham.

I must admit, before this tough trip to the Camp Nou, I was concerned a scared Arsenal (similar to the team that were easily beaten last year) were going to show up. However I think that Arsenal took the confidence from their first leg victory and carried it on into this game, and didn’t look nervous or overwhelmed.

Although Barcelona dominated possession, Arsenal defended very well. They were not in control of the game, and while Wojciech Szczesny (and then Manuel Almunia) had to make a few saves; they were not barraged with shots.



The first goal which broke the deadlock came late in the first half, after a lapse in concentration from captain Cesc Fabregas, which allowed Lionel Messi to be played in, and then score an exquisite goal. Fabregas giving the ball away in the manor he did, was not out of keeping with Arsenal’s performance. They had a distinct lack of possession, and while they defended astutely, they had no outlets, and subsequently no chance.

The lack of pace throughout the team was evident, and this added to the lack of opportunity to keep possession. Players like Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky were anonymous throughout the game, while Cesc Fabregas failed to get on the ball, and therefore unable to dictate the tempo of play as he usually does.

The high pressure from Barcelona forced Arsenal into making mistakes, and the Gunners were quickly caught on the back foot, and with the “parking the airbus” tactics like Inter Milan’s then boss Jose Mourinho did last year not in Arsenal’s DNA, a goal from Barcelona was inevitable. If you look at the “Player Influence” maps below, it shows how high up the pitch the Barcelona players were, and how deep (and under pressure) Arsenal were.




Onto the controversial Robin van Persie situation, I believe it was very poorly managed by the Arsenal management and team, the Dutchman lost his rag in the first half after an altercation with Eric Abidal and Dani Alves. Twinned with his well known troublesome temperament, the Barca players continued to wind him up, however being sent off for kicking the ball 1 second after the ref blew his whistle for offside was shambolic.

Overprotective refereeing was evident throughout the whole game, and when the sending off came about, Arsenal were level on the night and ahead on aggregate. So they have every right to feel aggrieved.

The final rubbing of salt into Arsenal’s wounds was Dane striker Nicklas Bendtner missing that big opportunity with less than five minutes to go, in which he failed to make the most of a Barcelona lapse in concentration.

Some Arsenal fans have pushed the blame on him, and told me he is “useless” and so on, but the Dane has saved Arsenal with his goals in the past, and would be an easy scapegoat ignoring how poor they performed throughout the match.


Where did it go right for Barca?

To put it simply, Barcelona played their own game. They were at home, so they already felt confident, and if you watch La Liga you can see that Barca does this week in, week out. Dominate possession, dictate the tempo, press profusely, rotate the players, and subsequently beat the opposition.

In this match, the full backs were valuable assets to the Barcelona attack. Dani Alves is widely regarded by some as one of the best footballers in the world, let alone the World’s best full back. He was superb last night, and as noted on the player influence maps from earlier, he pushed so far forward, that even if Arsenal managed to regain possession and use Samir Nasri as an outlet on the left wing, he was too busy tracking Alves who ended up playing like an out and out right winger. This neutralised the Nasri attack, and often leaving left back Gael Clichy isolated against both Alves and Pedro.



On the other flank, Adriano was selected ahead of Maxwell, and he was doing exactly the same tactics as Alves. Bombing forward and offering support to both Iniesta and Villa. Adriano had no problems against Rosicky, who was off the pace for most of the game, and at one point in the game, the Brazilian even hit the post.

With part time centre backs Abidal and Busquets occupying those key positions on the pitch, they were never really troubled. With this revolutionary/crazy 2-1-4-3 Barcelona formation, Javier Mascherano played the Sergio Busquets role whereby he drops in a third centre back, which allows the full backs to bomb on with such freedom as they do.

In midfield, the two maestro’s Andres Iniesta and Xavi both dictated the play as expected, with Iniesta completing 97 out of 105 passes (92.4% success rate) and Xavi, as usual, the top passer on the pitch completing 120 out of 133 attempted passes, with a 90.2% success rate. The only Arsenal player in the top ten lists of passers, came in at tenth place, was Englishman Jack Wilshere. Talisman Cesc Fabregas was 14th on the list.





Football can seem simple sometimes, you keep the ball, you can’t concede. If only it was as simple as that, but the way Barcelona play, they make it look this simple. Arsenal are fantastic at the passing game, but Barcelona are great.

Another factor which undone the Arsenal side was Argentine star Lionel Messi. For around 30 minutes the Barcelona number 10 was very quiet, and wasn’t as instrumental in the attacks as we’re use to seeing. However his influence in the game grew more and more as he decided to pick up the ball from deep and started to run at the Arsenal defence. This caused the Arsenal players to drift out of position, and meant midfielders were often dragged back covering, and out of position. Another inevitable situation, whereby it was sooner rather than later Messi would break through and get an attempt on goal.


The final element which Arsenal couldn’t comprehend with was Barcelona’s pressing game. This was at its highest level I’ve ever seen in the last 5 meetings between the two sides. Every time Arsenal regained possession, they were either too indecisive in their passing, dwindling on the ball too long, and before they knew it, they were under pressure from two to three Barca players. This caused Barca to regain the ball high up the pitch, and therefore they have possession closer to the opponent’s goal, and subsequently creating more chances.

Pundit Jamie Redknapp made a great point in the Sky Sports wrap up show, saying “the other reason they press so well is (because) they’re fresh, they pass the ball so well, they protect it, they retain the ball, (and) they’re never tired. So when they lose it, they’re still fit, still sharp, they close in packs and swarm all over you”.

A great description to the sheer brilliance, and hard work put in by Barcelona. All these elements factored into Barcelona’s comfortable victory over the Gunners.


Final thoughts on the game

For me, Barcelona are the favourites for the trophy, as they were in the beginning of the tournament. They are still the team to beat, and the team no one else would like to draw in the next round. They can also be impressed with the versatility shown by Sergio Busquets, and him taking on his new centre back role with enthusiasm and commitment.

Arsenal on the other hand, needs to regain composure and their focus, and after a bad two weeks, they need to concentrate on the Premier League title race. Barcelona is still on course for a treble, and it would not be wise to bet against them in all three competitions.

Finally it’s not all doom and gloom for Arsenal fans, tireless midfielder Jack Wilshere is going to be a phenomenal player. He didn’t look out of place against that Barca side, and is a future Arsenal captain.


Also Laurent Koscienly is a very promising defender with lots of potential and with this unexpected prolonged run in the Arsenal first team (all season) he can be proud of what he has achieved so far, however he is some way off the finished article, but fans can take solace from his performances in the two legs.

Lastly, it’s obvious I haven’t gone into too much depth regarding the Robin van Persie’s red card. Although it was an appalling decision, it remains to be seen whether those 11 men would have actually beaten that Barcelona team, considering Barca dominated all over the pitch.

It’s a disappointing end to Arsenal’s campaign, but maybe it’s time for Arsene Wenger to just ease up on his stubbornness, and possibly look to strengthen to squad for times like this when experienced winners would be vital in these predicaments.

I am not one to be telling a man the calibre of Arsene Wenger what to do, but all his hard work he has put into Arsenal is being undone by this trophy drought, and many fans I have spoken to, have expressed these facts.


What were your thoughts on the game? Who are your favourites for the Champions League? Leave your comments below and let me know.

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