Title Race Wide Open as the Likely Lads Bare their Flaws

After another weekend of plentiful goals and gaffes in the Premier League, the argument that this will be the most open title race in years is gathering strength. The usual suspects are all up there but there is an unmistakable vulnerability about the regular top four teams, suggesting this season’s scramble for the biggest domestic prize could have more twists and turns that an alpine climb in the Tour de France.

Early pace-setters Chelsea served notice of their title aspirations with a hard-fought victory over Liverpool yesterday but the most significant conclusion from an otherwise drab affair was their over-reliance on Didier Drogba.
The Ivorian muscleman laid both goals on a plate for his fellow attackers and once again showed his relish for the big games. But the more influential Drogba shows himself to be, the more you wonder how on earth Chelsea will cope with his absence during the African Nations Cup. Take away the Blues’ other titan Michael Essien and you have a gaping hole in the middle of the side which Daniel Sturridge and Mikel John Obi aren’t going to come close to filling.
Chelsea have already shown alarming frailty this season in their resounding defeat at Wigan followed by an anaemic display in Cyprus. And with the January transfer ban ruling out reinforcements, Carlo Ancelotti may find that it’s not only the English weather that casts a gloom over Stamford Bridge this winter.

Liverpool matched Chelsea for most of yesterday’s game, only to find Fernando Torres having an off day while Drogba made hay. More worrying for Reds fans, however, is the paucity of attacking options at Rafael Benitez’s disposal. If Gerrard and Torres aren’t firing, you really wonder where the spark is going to come from. Riera, Babel, Voronin and Ngog are all decent players, but not one of them has proved themselves capable of opening up the tightest defences or providing a game-changing moment against the very best sides.
The absence of Xabi Alonso cannot be overstated. I’d be amazed if Javier Mascherano and Lucas score five goals between them this season. So defensive-minded are Liverpool’s midfield duo that they very rarely influence the play in the attacking third, let alone contribute goals or assists. Alonso used to sit very deep and was never a regular scorer, but his intelligent passing and link play often meant he was at the start of a move that led to a Liverpool goal. Alberto Aquilani has some big shoes to fill but even if he does prove a worthy successor to Alonso, his arrival may be too late to save Liverpool’s season.

I can’t help feeling that Manchester United are slightly flattered by their haul of 19 points from eight games. Saturday’s performance at home to Sunderland was among the most inept produced by a United side in years and confirmed many of the concerns fans and pundits have been expressing about Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.
The continued absence of Rio Ferdinand and Edwin van der Sar is depriving the United defence of authority and experience and there have to be serious concerns about the long-term fitness of the England centre-half. With Rooney surprisingly quiet, United also looked short of quality in attack and Antonio Valencia will have to improve dramatically to escape being labelled the biggest flop of the season.
Nonetheless, United snatched a draw at the last, once again showing their amazing capacity to come up with decisive late goals. And leaving arguments over generous time-keeping to one side, Ferguson and his men must take enormous credit for their ability to crank up the pressure on the opposition goal in the dying moments of games. For as long as I can remember, watching United trying to claw their way back into a game when they are drawing has been like having a front row seat for the battle of the Alamo.
Patrice Evra’s equaliser against Sunderland may have owed a fair amount to luck but it followed a period of relentless attacking during which United often had as many as eight men in the opposition penalty area. Every Sunderland player was like the Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke, desperately flinging themselves in all directions as they strived to stem the rising tide of United aggression. The commitment to gamble on all-out attack in pursuit of points has been one the defining characteristics of the Ferguson era and contrasts sharply with the approach of Benitez, who seldom makes changes before the 70th minute of games, regardless of how Liverpool are faring. Only a fool would write United out of the title race.

Arsenal were sublime against Blackburn and could have scored twice as many goals as the six they smashed past Paul Robinson in devastating fashion yesterday. But I can’t help feeling Arsene Wenger’s men are in danger of becoming known as flat-track bullies.
The attacking options at the Gunners manager’s disposal should be the envy of Liverpool, Chelsea and even United but Arsenal’s side retains areas of glaring weakness. The absence of an established enforcer in midfield is so blatant that David Dunn (remember him?) was given the freedom of the Emirates, scoring one goal and dancing into the area before being brought down for what should have been a penalty and the chance to level the score at 3-all.
For all their flair in possession, Arsenal look hideously exposed to the counter-attack and unless Wenger gets over his fear of spending and spanks 20 million on someone in the Javier Mascherano mould in January, the Gunners could be staring down the barrel of a fifth straight season without silverware.

Capello’s Real Work Starts Now

So we’ve made it. In record time, with minimum fuss and goals galore.

Cue mass hysteria and widespread delirium across the land.

That’s the problem you see. Just like four years ago, this England team is in serious danger of getting over-hyped to the extent that they arrive in South Africa seriously believing they are world-beaters.

This is a dangerous mindset and could easily lead to the kind of complacent, sleep-walking football that England played in Germany.

England were excellent last night and there are lots of very encouraging signs. The movement was fantastic, especially the way Gerrard, Lampard and Lennon found space in the areas behind, beyond and outside Rooney and Heskey. At times, England were playing with a genuine front five, and that’s something that will be hard for any team to deal with.

But there is a long, long way to go, and this team is still some distance form being the finished article.

Capello deserves the plaudits for masterminding such a trouble-free qualification campaign but his record in matches against the top-ranked sides is decidedly poor.

During the Italian’s short tenure, England have lost friendlies against France, Germany and Spain and fought back from 2-0 down to scrape a draw with Holland.

That’s pretty compelling evidence that England are still some way from being considered favourites for this World Cup.

Capello’s biggest challenge over the coming months will be to develop a way for England to impose their will against teams with superior technical ability.

England are unlikely to enjoy more than 40% of possession against sides like Spain or Brazil, which makes it crucially important for them to use the ball effectively when they do have it.

I think Slaven Bilic was onto something. What England do have in abundance is players of athleticism, speed and power – truly English virtues that can produce a style of play every bit as exhilarating for the spectator as watching Spain produce 30 passes en route to a goal.
The first 20 minutes last night were as good as any spell of football I’ve seen this decade. They reminded me of the way Liverpool bombard and overwhelm opponents in Champions League games at Anfield. This style may just to hold the key to how England need to play against opponents who will guard the ball with their lives.

I feel a bit sorry for Glen Johnson. Finally England have an attacking fullback of genuine quality (I include Ashley Cole here, unless you can name me three occasions in which he’s set up a goal). Yes, he has defensive lapses, but Brazil didn’t worry about that when Roberto Carlos and Cafu were haring up and down the touchline, pressing opponents, demanding attention from opposing fullbacks and creating space for teammates.

To win a World Cup you need lots of ways of scoring goals and Johnson provides another option going forward. His defending must improve but he knows that and just needs to improve his reaction speed when opponents are shaping to cross or shoot. He is rarely beaten for pace and is good in the air so the adjustments he needs to make are minor and well within his reach.

One final thought. Heskey. I just don’t get it any more. Yes he occupies defenders and has presence. But you don’t win major tournaments with non-scoring centre-forwards. Last night, he had two gilt-edged chances and failed miserably on both occasions. Martin O’Neill has lost patience and so will Capello.

If the Italian wants a big man, Carlton Cole and Peter Crouch are better options. If he wants a goal-threat Jermain Defoe has shown himself to be a Grade A finisher, although Capello understandably seems to view the Spurs man as an impact player from the bench.

The good news is that England’s early qualification gives Capello time to experiment and try out some of these alternatives. My feeling is that Cole will have a big season for West Ham and show himself to be a kind of Heskey Plus.

We’re nearly there but the hard work starts now.

My team for South Africa: Green, Johnson, Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, Lennon, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, Cole.
Subs: Foster, Upson, Bridge, Carrick, Walcott, Crouch.

Ramps Recall Would Play into Aussie Hands

Mark Ramprakash. Love the guy. One of my all-time heroes. A player gifted with all the attributes of the very finest batsmen: technique, flair and the ability to stay entirely focussed on the task in hand for hours on end. Still a joy to watch, and still, one month shy of his 40th birthday, the most prolific run-scorer in the land.

Time for an England recall? Give me a break.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Ramprakash’s Test career is that it lasted as long as it did: 52 matches over an 11-year period and a batting average of 27. In 92 visits to the crease he only passed 50 on 14 occasions and only twice did he reach three figures.

And yet despite all this evidence, England selectors are being urged to put their faith in Ramprakash for one of the biggest Tests in the side’s history. Seven years after his last Test Ramps is being tipped as the man to win back the Ashes at his home ground.

Honestly, I can’t think of a more ridiculous idea. Yes, Ramps probably couldn’t do any worse than Mssrs Bopara and Bell did at Headingley. Yes, he’s in fantastic form in county cricket. But what kind of a message does it send out to the Australians if the selectors resort to such a desperate punt?

In what surely ranks as the longest trial in Test history, Ramprakash was found to be totally lacking in that crucial something that turns a promising domestic player into a successful Test cricketer.

When Ramprakash came out to bat in a Test match, something very strange happened. He regularly made it to 20 or 25 in a fairly unflustered manner before undergoing a crisis of confidence that would almost invariably lead to his premature dismissal. I remember him cleverly working his way to 48 untroubled runs in the heat of an Ashes battle in 1997, before inexplicably charging down the wicket to Shane Warne and getting stumped.

Ramprakash’s failure was very much a mental one. He clearly struggled to clear his head of the pressures created by representing one’s country and developed a mindset that wrought havoc with his batting technique.

Just like his peer and fellow England failure Graeme Hick, Ramprakash always seemed burdened by the demands of representing England. And there won’t be a more pressurised situation that the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval.

Can you imagine the various sledges coming from the Aussie slip cordon when Ramps takes guard? It would be enough to unsettle even the most confident of Test players, let alone a man whose psychological frailties were so consistently exposed on the sport’s greatest stage. There is simply too much at stake to gamble on a man who was found wanting on so many occasions over an 11-year period. And the consequences of Ramprakash’s failure could be detrimental to the entire team.

So if not Ramps, who do they pick? I’d say Jonathan Trott has to play. He’s in great nick, has a winning mentality, an absence of scars from Ashes past and a better South African accent than Kevin Pietersen.

I don’t buy the argument that this is no time for a new boy. England have tried putting their faith in experienced campaigners in the forms of Harmison and Bell, and both were woeful at Headingley.

What’s more, England batsmen tend to do rather well on their debuts. Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Matt Prior made hundreds, while Bell and Pietersen both struck confident fifties.

So Trott for Bopara and hopefully Flintoff for Harmison. My only other change would be to shake up the batting order. I’d go for Collingwood at three, on the grounds that he thrives in adversity and knows how to take responsibility when England need it most. Bell can stay at four with Trott at five and Prior at six. With Flintoff, Broad, Swann and even Anderson all in form, the batting order has depth, even if it lacks star quality.

England were awful at Headlingley but don’t write them off just yet. In 2005, they bounced back from a miserable batting performance at Lord’s to score 400 in a day at Edgbaston. And in this series, the near-humiliation of Cardiff was followed by a resounding victory at the home of cricket.

Taking the series as a whole, the sides look very evenly-matched. Roll on the Oval.

Is Hughes the new Ardiles? Transfer Talk

Manchester City’s pursuit of Emmanuel Adebayor has me baffled. In collecting forwards like Panini stickers, Mark Hughes seems to be trying to recreate the gung-ho “you score four, we’ll score five” spirit of Spurs under Ossie Ardiles, and we all know where that ended up.

Hughes has already signed Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz this summer, adding to a front line that includes Robinho, Craig Bellamy and Shaun Wright-Phillips. It’s difficult to see what would be achieved by signing Adebayor, except ensuring an unhappy dressing room.

Hughes should pay more attention to his defence. While John Terry’s head has obviously been turned by the offer to earn a million pounds a minute at City, the Chelsea captain is likely to stay put. The saga has all the hallmarks of Steven Gerrard’s flirtation with Chelsea in 2005 and Frank Lampard’s near-move to Inter Milan last year. In both cases, the players were the winners, eventually lured into staying on vastly-improved contracts.

Without Terry, Hughes is left with Richard Dunne and Micah Richards, two players whose form dipped alarmingly over the course of last season. His other option is Nedum Onohua, a player whose partnership with Richards for the England under-21s yielded seven goals in the semifinal and final alone. Throw in Wayne Bridge and Pablo Zabaleta and it doesn’t look like a top-four defence, let alone a title-winning defence.

Meanwhile over at Anfield, Rafa Benitez is busy accusing Gareth Barry of greed while Xabi Alonso is openly courting a move to Real Madrid. This is a mess of the manager’s own making. Benitez spent the whole of last summer chasing Barry, only to be denied by Villa’s, not Barry’s, financial demands. He did his best to raise the cash by selling Alonso, thus souring his relationship with one of the club’s finest talents. Now with Barry sold to Man City and the under-appreciated Alonso looking to move on, Liverpool could be left with a hole in the heart of the team just when Manchester United appear to be leaving the door open for another Premier League side to claim their title.

How else can we read Sir Alex Ferguson’s declaration that his spending is over for the summer? It seems Fergie has accepted the need to build yet another great side and he’d rather wait a couple of years for the likes of Macheda and Welbeck to come good than spend over-the-odds for someone like Ribery. But make no mistake, the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez dramatically weaken the United squad and the signings of Valencia, Owen and Obertan don’t even go half way to replacing them.

So as United appear set for a season of transition, opportunity knocks for the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and even City. It could be one of the most open and exciting seasons in years.

Masterstroke or Madness? Michael Owen’s transfer to Manchester United could spell disaster for both sides.

It’s far too easy to get caught up in the romantic view of Sir Alex Ferguson’s move for Michael Owen. The biggest surprise of this summer’s transfer window is being widely portrayed as the coming-together of a great player and a great club at a perfect time for both sides. United need Owen and Owen needs United.

With Ronaldo and Tevez gone, Ferguson needed to revamp his attack. And with Real Madrid snapping up all his favoured options, thanks to the generosity of Spanish banks, Ferguson was required to cast his net far and wide.  But far from thinking outside the box, Ferguson has kept his focus firmly inside the penalty area, surprising everyone by taking a one-time predator, whose disastrous run of injuries have left him a faint shadow of the player voted Europe’s finest in 2001. In this bold and jaw-dropping move, Ferguson is risking not only ridicule but the likely surrender of the league title.

Ferguson clearly sees the signing as a coup. In the Scotsman’s wildest dreams, Owen rediscovers his pace and scoring touch, forges a formidable partnership with Wayne Rooney and helps lead United to an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League crown. Owen, after toiling in a Newcastle side bereft of creativity, clings to the hope that United’s flair players will be dishing up the kind of chances his used to take in his sleep. Both views are far detached from reality.

Michael Owen hasn’t just lost his pace, he is slow. Watching him cough and splutter his way through Newcastle’s fateful last few games of the season, when he was picked that is, was like watching a former Grand National winning race horse trotting the final few furlongs to finish last at Aintree.

United already have one immobile forward in Dimitar Berbatov, but what the Bulgarian lacks in pace and desire, he makes up for in guile, a notion backed up by the fact that he led last season’s Premier League assists table.

Two years ago, United’s attack was formidable, but its success was largely based on the combined pace and energy of Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney. With Berbatov and Owen in the side, United will be taking much longer to get the ball from one end of the pitch to the other, allowing opponents crucial extra seconds to get back and regroup in defence.

It’s perfectly possible that Ferguson doesn’t intend to start Owen at all. Maybe he sees him as an impact player, a wise head to introduce from the bench who could just pop up unnoticed to grab a crucial goal here and there, much in the way that the Scot used Henrik Larsson during his brief, but successful, spell at Old Trafford. A clever ploy perhaps but it doesn’t go any way towards filling the gap left by Ronaldo or Tevez, a player who grew frustrated by his lack of chances at United but still made 51 appearances last season, contributing 15, often vital, and usually spectacular, goals.

And if Owen is to be a substitute, then in what possible way is this a good move for the player? After missing the best part of four seasons through injury, he finally has the chance to get fit, complete a full pre-season and establish himself again at the top level.

Owen’s only hope of forcing his way back into Fabio Capello’s thinking is by playing and scoring regularly. So surely a team like Aston Villa, where he’d be guaranteed a first-team place, and a chance to play Don Quijote to Emile Heskey’s Sancho Panza, would have been the ideal destination for the former Liverpool man. Villa are a young side, packed with creative talents like Ashley Young and James Milner, players young enough to have idolised Owen and eager to feed of his experience and game intelligence.

Owen may only be 29, but a crippling series of injuries mean this is likely to be the last significant move of his career. With regular football, a manager who knows how to use him, and a team of hungry servants, he could just have a swansong in him yet. But a move to the Theatre of Dreams is more likely to turn into a nightmare.