Lionel Messi seems to be out, but for how long? What effect would this have on the balloon d’Or this year?
For as long as the little magician is out, football of course is going to be the loser
So with so many injuries at different top clubs and with national team players, are we playing too many games and too many competitions all in the name of money?
Is money the problem in the game today?
Is it money depriving us of MESSI for the next few months?
Take a look at the world football calendar, and you’ll see that it is just scandalous!
In the middle of the 2013 season, Africa had the Nations cup in January 2014.
After the 2013 season, players went to camp for two weeks to prepare for the World Cup.
2014 summer was the World Cup.
Then we had a long season followed by another two weeks intense preparation for the Copa America. 2015 was Copa America.
2016 is the European championship and 2016 is the Africans Nations cup
Then inbetween all of the above, we have had three pre-seasons; (training camps, tournaments and games played in different time Zones to Europe, forcing players to fly 12, 13 hours at a time; Thailand, Singapore, USA)
And then we even have “post season friendlies” (Players flying to the Far East and the Far west for meaningless games so they can please sponsors all in the name of money, instead of taking well deserved rests)
Did I forget sponsors demands on teams and individual players?; (photo shoots, interviews, events, filming)
TV rights; (image, documentary, post match and rematch interviews)
And then there are games played at unfavourable times for players, but just to please the powerful MEDIA and sponsors.
Are we losing primary focus or is it just me?
They say that love of money is the root of all evils; no wonder we have the house of FIFA in shambles! No wonder these football executives are being arrested daily for taking money for votes!
Qatar? That’s surely a joke!
But with money involved, forget the joke, it’s real!
45 degrees heat, 70,000 people packed inside domes in searing (Air conditioned domes of course) and sponsors scrambling to sell something or the other to gullible fans, TV commercials and LIVE games, it’s going to be one of the greatest rip offs ever!
Messi’s injury? Is there a case for too many games, and very little rest dating back from 2013?
Football is the loser if one of the greatest players ever to grace the green grass limps off it for a couple of months, Barcelona will also be a loser as well because they will have to play without their talismen for many games including one of the greatest derbies in the world, the El Clásico
The fans would also be the losers; for that young child whose dad bought a ticket to a Barcelona game months in advance, to see Lionel Messi next week. Shame! But the question is; which player is next? Yes there would be more high profile casualties of too many games played, just hope it’s not one of yours.
UNITED SOLDIER ON
Louis van Gaal has found himself on the top of the premiership, taking Manchester United to the summit of the Premier League for the first time since Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford two years ago.
What an achievement by the tinker man from Holland!
He has a blended a unit of youth and experience and crafted Manchester United into a result oriented team.
I think his team would be a year or two before they mature to its full potential, but don’t count on them not taking the opportunities if the big guns slip.
Pass and move and pass and move, get it to the wide men, get into the box as quickly as you can, and cross the ball into the penalty area. It sounds so simple, but it’s not, as this is from dedicated hours of purpose built practise sessions, born out of the traditional Dutch 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 systems played in Holland.
All the pegs seem to be going into the right holes for him (even the fixtures are right) and he seems to be adjusting the players to their right positions on the field (for now, as you can’t bank on LVG not tweaking) and what that has given them is the winning edge and the knack of getting the three points when they matter most. Well done LVG.
STURRIDGE HANDS BRENDAN A LIFELINE
What a time for Daniel Sturridge to make a return back to what he knows how to do best; scoring goals!
It was obvious to see what Liverpool have been lacking since the injury to Daniel Sturridge.
Liverpool didn’t do anything special but with Sturridge on the pitch making his runs on and off the ball, they looked a better team than previously.
They took the most of their chances which is what they have not been doing for many months and at least the goals give Brendan Rogers some reprieve and takes the pressure off the training ground.
It’s interesting to see how Sturridge would play with Benteke. Sturridge too can drop from the top, play with his back to goal, sideways, on the wing, running towards goal behind the lines, play wall passes, can dribble one to one and is extremely quick.
Will Sturridge give back BR his job or is too late? One thing is certain, the name Ancelotti and Klopp would still ring in Merseyside for a few weeks, and who knows? But all BR should be worrying about is how to keep Sturridge fit for the games ahead.
CITY NEED MORE THAN A KOMPANY
Well Manchester City lost again to a good Tottenham side at the weekend.
With injuries bearing down on City, we now know how the league would eventually be decided this year.
KOMPANY was missed, Hart was missed, Silva was missed (all through injuries) and then Yaya Toure had to come off with injury and it just highlights again the problem of too many useless games post and preseason. Add rotations and suspensions
again and the problem is glaring with the top teams in Europe.
Kevin Debruyne scored but the game actually went past him too much for my liking for a number 10. He needs to be more involved in games rather than just running down the channels or running into space in front of the striker
He has to be the man on the ball, making plays, dictating the play and winning the game for his team.
He has to be involved and has to demand the ball more in danger areas, I didn’t see much of that on Saturday.
Everyone is beatable in this league, only a few weeks ago, we gave the league to City, but they’ve been brought down back to earth in two games. Can Pellegrini find personnel to deliver while his main men are on the injury table? City need more than Vincent Kompany, they need Silva and Hart and Yaya in that team, but can they keep all
Of them fit at the same time, and always?
We’ll know in a few weeks.
TWO GAMES IN A DAY: ONE LOST ONE WON FOR CHELSEA.
It was not so much one point gained but 2 points lost for Chelsea on Saturday.
As they continue to lose ground on the leaders and run the risk of running out of games, Jose Mourinho needs to quickly decide the direction he is going with his team as quickly as possible.
They were playing against a team that just depended on energy, enthusiasm and a fight, but how easily they curtailed Chelsea in the first half was a worry to me.
‘Is the team that dominated last season no more?’ I asked myself after about 35 minutes as Chelsea did not look like scoring even a disallowed goal.
They still looked vulnerable again at the back, they looked like the team who didn’t win in preseason in the middle of the park, and upfront they resembled the team of 2013 with misfiring strikers.
But then Jose Mourinho changed the team and they took the game to Newcastle, causing problems from everywhere on the pitch.
Sometimes when your coach makes a change, it’s a signal to the team the direction to which the team is going.
William and Ramirez’s substitutions signalled an intent to attack and attack Chelsea did.
So can Chelsea replicate that 2nd half display more often this season? If they do, then there are not a lot of teams in England and in Europe who can stand up to that brand of football
Can Jose bring in the Youths into this team, to save the legs of the experienced ones or is he going to still stick to playing the same old faces.
If Jose is going to win anything this season, he has to change the dynamics of his team, and rest the jaded players so everyone can win. Saturday was a game of two halves: lost one, won one. But he needs to start chalking up three points otherwise he would soon run out of points to catch the leaders.