soccer world

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Another Clough era ends at Derby as long-serving Tisdale earns plaudits against big-spending Fleetwood.

And so another Clough era at Derby ends in controversy.
Nigel Clough, until Saturday the fourth-longest serving manager in England’s professional leagues, was unceremoniously booted out of the club following a row with chief executive Sam Rush in the wake of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest.
Three defeats in a week were given as the official reason, but with one of those coming in the Capital One Cup and with Derby sitting in mid-table the decision looks knee-jerk rather than measured, flying in the face of every message of calm and patience that has been coming out of the club since Clough’s appointment in January 2009.

Booted out: Derby County manager Nigel Clough was sacked after Saturday's defeat at Nottingham Forest

Opinions on Clough’s departure range from, ‘he’s done nothing, he only got the job off the back of his father’s reputation and the club has been standing still for years,’ to ‘Clough has done a fine job on a small budget, who could have done any better?’

As with most of these things the truth probably lies somewhere between the two, but the latter argument holds more weight.

Firstly, it is important to point out that to use Brian Clough’s career as a barometer for Nigel’s is grossly unfair. Anyone well versed in the goings on at Derby in the last four-and-a-half years, or at Burton beforehand, will be well aware that Clough Jnr is far from a chip off the block in terms of his personality or managerial style. He has never sought to cling to his father’s coat-tails nor could he, as - unlike with the Ferguson’s - the father had retired long before the son tried his hand at management. So, with that myth dispelled, what of Nigel the manager?
It is true that Derby have never put together a serious promotion challenge under Clough, but never really being threatened by relegation either in what is now one of Europe’s biggest leagues can be classed as an achievement in itself, especially given the financial restrictions placed on him from day one.
Relegation into League One was something that was a very real possibility when Clough took over in January 2009. Paul Jewell’s reign was nothing short of a catastrophe. The club were relegated back into the Championship with a record low number of points just two months after Americans General Sports and Entertainment took over in January 2008. No side has ever been relegated so early in a Premier League season.

Father and son: Clough Jr is a very different manager to his dad, Brian, who also managed Derby County

Derby came within four days of going a year without a league victory in September 2008, and when Jewell resigned three months later, Clough was left to pick up the pieces. He inherited the largest wage bill in the Championship - something that would cast a shadow over Clough’s reign for its entirety and something that should not be forgotten.
That being said, Derby have hardly been the Championship’s paupers in the last four-and-a-half years, but balancing the books after Jewell’s ill-fated tenureship mean that Clough’s league finishes in three of his four full seasons as manager - with the exception of 2010-11 - were all higher than Derby’s standing in the budget table.
What’s more - again with exception of 2010-11 - Derby were clearly making steady progress under Clough. He saved them from relegation in 2008-09, eventually finishing 18th, before a 14th-placed finished the following season. Then came the 2010-11 blip when Derby finished 19th, but since then consecutive 12th and 10th-placed finishes show a club moving in the right direction.
Sure, the progress has been steady rather than rapid, but in a league where year-on-year most promotion contenders are of a calibre - and budget - higher than a lot of sides in top flights across Europe, Derby’s progress is a credit to their former manager.
Of course, there is the counter-argument.

Long-serving: Clough was appointed as the new Derby manager in January 2009 and steadily improved the side

LEAGUES ONE AND TWO

League One review
League Two review

Derby’s owners will point to the fact that in the last four-and-a-half years several sides with similar budgets have gone up - namely, Burnley, Blackpool, Reading and Crystal Palace - but the vast majority of promoted teams, and indeed those who have finished in the top six in recent years, have been spending in the millions rather than the hundreds of thousands that Clough has been.

Attendances have been on the slide in the last few years, but Derby are not the only ex-Premier League club to have found that in the Football League. Clough’s brand of football - bringing through youngsters and encouraging them to play a high-tempo passing game - certainly cannot be blamed for that.
The uproar over Clough’s departure will soon wane should the man he replace prove a success. That is the nature of football. Just look at Southampton, or to use a Football League example, Watford. Nigel Adkins and Sean Dyche were both harshly sacked by those respective clubs but the success of the men that followed them - Mauricio Pochettino and Gianfranco Zola - has meant they were quickly forgotten about.
Whatever the outcome, a slanging match on a bus clearly was not the right way to get rid of a man who had picked Derby up off their feet when they had become something of a laughing stock.
Steve McClaren was on Monday announced as the successor to Clough. He will do well to improve on last season's 10th-placed finish without significant backing in the transfer market. If that backing does come then that will only beg the question, why was it not afforded to Clough?
He certainly did enough to warrant it.

In the frame: Steve McClaren has been linked with the vacant Derby post, while former Stoke Boss Tony Pulis (right) watched the Rams in action on Saturday

Victory for long-serving Tisdale against big-spending Fleetwood
With two of the Football League’s longest-serving managers coming into this season now gone in Clough and ex-Carlisle boss Greg Abbott, it was perhaps rather fitting that the man second only to Arsene Wenger in those stakes masterminded a poignant victory on Saturday.
Exeter City, owned by their fans, with nine of their squad of 22 having coming through their academy and not a single once having cost a penny in transfer fees, turned over big-spending Fleetwood in League Two with both goals coming from local lad Scot Bennett.
Paul Tisdale and Exeter are English football’s great anomaly.

Unique: Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale has spent seven years with the club and is aiming for promotion

Over seven years in the job now, Tisdale has turned down numerous approaches from bigger clubs and Exeter have always stuck by their manager through sticky patches.
The last couple of years have not been easy for Grecians fans as they have had to watch their side slide from eighth in League One to mid-table in League Two after losing almost their entire starting XI following a remarkable season in 2010-11, but the shoots of recovery are there for all to see.
Promotion is the aim this season and if results like Saturday’s keep coming along then there is no reason why that can’t be achieved.
Good luck to them.

Good week for...
Mansfield Town. The newly-promoted side have now gone eight games unbeaten in League Two following Saturday’s 1-0 win at runaway league leaders Chesterfield. The gap to the Spireites is still four points but with Fleetwood losing too the Stags find themselves in the automatic promotion places. With two consecutive home games coming up Paul Cox’s side are turning into unlikely promotion contenders.

Bad week for...

Sheffield United. David Weir - a man interviewed for the Everton job in the summer - just cannot buy a win (or a draw for that matter). New managers always need time but no-one at Bramall Lane would have envisaged the club sitting bottom of the League One table after nine games given the talented squad Weir has at his disposal. Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Wolves made it six defeats in a row for the beleaguered Blades.

TALENT SCOUT : PATRICK BAMFORD - MK DONS

Chelsea have an entire squad of youngsters out on loan across the globe and few are more exciting than Bamford (below centre).
The 20-year-old forward - signed from Nottingham Forest for £1.5million in January 2012 - scored twice as Karl Robinson’s MK Dons side moved into the League One play-offs with a 4-1 win over Stevenage on Saturday.
That double took his tally for the season to six but he is more than just a goalscorer. Standing at 6ft 1in Bamford is already an able target man, while he has the pace to play wide and the touch to drop deep and receive the ball.

As Barca bid to bring down Celtic without Messi, will Neymar step into his shoes as the spotlight shines on the £50m man?

Prior to his arrival at the Nou Camp this summer questions were raised regarding whether Neymar could play with Leo Messi.
The question facing Barcelona at Celtic Park on Tuesday evening is whether Neymar can play without Messi. Robbed of their Argentine genius due to a thigh injury, Barcelona head back to the scene of shock the Champions League defeat of last season reliant on Neymar ensuring there is no repeat.
The Brazilian wonderkid’s supporting cast is, of course, none too shabby. He is expected to line up on the left of an attacking trident which will feature Cesc Fabregas in Messi’s central role and Pedro on the opposite flank. Pulling the strings in midfield will be Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

World-class talent: Neymar will be expected to spearhead Barcelona's attack away to Celtic on Tuesday

But while Neymar - a £48.6million arrival from Santos on the summer - has acclimatised well to life among such illustrious company, it is the presence of Messi on the park that has helped him improve with every game in the blaugrana shirt.
To emphasise just how quickly this pair of South American superstars have got on the same page, of the 11 goals Messi has scored this season Neymar has provide three assists. Indeed, that statistic is slightly skewed by the fact Neymar was rested against Almeria at the weekend when Messi took his tally to 11 from nine appearances.
Looking at it another way, of the five assists Neymar has provided for his team in nine appearances more than half have gone to Messi.

Missing: The world's best player, Lionel Messi, is unavailable for selection away to Celtic on Tuesday

On Tuesday night, under the floodlights of one of football’s most intimidating venues, Neymar must not only be the architect of goals but also the assassin in front of goal given Barcelona will be without their most feared marksman.
One of the most impressive aspects of Neymar’s integration to his new side has been the way he has quickly adapted to the work ethic which forms the basis for Barcelona’s captivating football.
On the rare occasion they do not have the ball every player is expected to give his utmost to winning it back.
For a Brazilian flair player who some feared would be all tricks and no tracking back, think Robinho at Real Madrid, Neymar’s contribution to the team cause has rightly earned fulsome praise from his manager Gerardo Martino.

Supporting cast: Neymar has joined some of the world's elite at Barcelona - including Andres Iniesta, Adriano and Messi

Unconvincing: Robinho failed to build on his promise but Gerardo Martino has been encouraged by Neymar

On the ball, Neymar has shown a well-judged appreciation of when to use his consummate skill to carve out opportunities and when simply to be a cog on the wheel of a sweeping Barcelona attacking move.
Reports Neymar was suffering from anaemia after surgery to remove his tonsils in the summer. Although denied by the player himself, they perhaps contributed to his gradual introduction to first-team affairs.
Perhaps the plan all along was to give Neymar time to find his feet as Martino opted to bring him off the bench in Barcelona’s first three games of the season.
But it was in his first start alongside Messi in the breathtaking 3-2 win against Valencia where Barca fans were given a true taste of what surely is to come.

False nine? Cesc Fabregas is likely to play through the middle of Barca's front three

His link-up play, with Messi and Fabregas in particular, was astounding for a player with only one previous start under his belt. And while Messi grabbed the headlines with yet another hat-trick, Neymar’s contribution to the thriller certainly did not go unnoticed in the Spanish press.
He has not looked back since, providing an assist a game and finally getting off the mark in La Liga in the recent 4-1 win over Real Sociedad.
All the signs point to the fact that Neymar is on a steep upward curve and that he can certainly carry plenty of the attacking burden that Messi has largely had to shoulder on his own.
Neymar is certainly beginning to show the talent that made him one of the most sought after youngsters in world football rather than the much-hyped player who disappointed in Brazil’s defeat to England at Wembley back in February.

On his knees: Neymar struggled earlier in the year when Brazil visited Wembley

Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo’s then world-record move from Manchester United to Real Madrid the debate has raged as to who was the better player, the Portuguese or his Barcelona counterpart Messi.
It rages to this day but in La Liga a new argument has been born, namely who has done the best summer transfer business.

Rival? Real Madrid's Gareth Bale is being scrutinised in the same way that Neymar is

Will it be Real, who broke the bank to sign Gareth Bale from Spurs? Or will it be Barcelona, who have made Neymar their second best paid player behind Messi?
Should Neymar ensure Barcelona do not miss Messi against Celtic, that debate is sure to swing in his favour.

As great Guardiola returns to England, can he escape another fright night in Europe?

Pep Guardiola - complete with the style, swagger and attention to detail that make him the most revered coach on the continent - is back in England.

The ex-Barcelona tactician takes his new Bayern Munich side to Manchester on Wednesday where they'll be met by a bruised Manuel Pellegrini and Co.

Guardiola has seen Munich score 25 times already this season, and if City are as insistent on presenting gifts to opponents as they were during the weekend defeat at Aston Villa, Pep is likely to leave the Etihad Stadium with his first win away in England.

Because up until now, he hasn't had it all his own way when facing our elite in their own back yards.

Up and down: Pep Guardiola has never won an away game in England

Winner: Guardiola did beat Man United on neutral ground at Wembley in 2011

Homework: Manuel Pellegrini says he knows how Guardiola will set up against Man City

Of course, there was the small matter of the 2011 final when Barca comfortably beat Manchester United at the neutral Wembley.

But in his four genuine away fixtures Guardiola has drawn twice and lost the other two - despite the Catalans having seemingly cast over ever major team in Europe.
Bayern are becoming a team in Guardiola's mould - even if the manager doesn't admit as much - and the 42-year-old remains feared for his ever-progressive approach.

City, however, will know that they are able to draw on Chelsea and Arsenal's exploits in recent years and come away with something.
Pellegrini said: 'He [Guardiola] knows the way we play, so he will try different things. But we know things about Guardiola, too. I lived in Spain nine years so I know exactly the way Guardiola plays.'

In May 2009 - towards the end of Guardiola's first season in charge at the Nou Camp - he was given a hell of a fright at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho's Blues had drawn 0-0 in Spain and, thanks to a Michael Essien goal nine minutes into the semi-final second leg, were heading towards the final. Andres Iniesta dramatically scored a stoppage-time equaliser to send Barca through with their first shot on target.

Sportsmail's Matt Lawton has witnessed all four of Guardiola's trips to England. That night he wrote: 'Even if Barcelona enjoyed much of the possession, Chelsea deserved to go through for the way they controlled this second leg. They were magnificent until Iniesta’s goal.'

Tough to take: Michael Essien's goal looked to have put Chelsea through

Uproar: The 1-1 draw was shrouded in controversy, with Didier Drogba particularly upset

A year later Arsenal showed that getting a head of steam could overawe the European champions. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice early in the second half at the Emirates, with the visitors cruising. But the introduction of Theo Walcott, and in turn playing with added width and gumption, had Guardiola squeamish.

Walcott scored moments after coming on, Cesc Fabregas equalised from the spot and Arsene Wenger's side might have taken a lead going into the quarter-final second leg.

'From Walcott came the start of a remarkable revival that took advantage of the complacency that had spread through the Catalans,' Lawton said. 'Suddenly Arsenal were playing with more urgency; more fluency too.'

Stunner: The inclusion of Theo Walcott changed the game in 2010

Twelve months on and the Gunners had their win over Pep.

Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin turned the game on its head after David Villa's early opener. It was about allowing the visitors to play and countering at a breathtaking tempo.

'This will be remembered as the night when this maturing Arsenal side somehow beat the finest football team we have ever seen,' penned Lawton.
'This was a match best described with expletives. The kind of encounter that blows the mind and quickens the pulse; that leaves spectators stunned and inspired in equal measure; that even appeared to leave the players and the managers in something of a daze.'

Up against it: Barcelona lost to Arsenal in 2011, with goals from Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin

That is one way to beat Guardiola. The other is to operate so doggedly defensively that seasons change between shots on goal. Roberto Di Matteo chose the latter and won 1-0.

Didier Drogba notched the winner just before half-time. Chelsea defended for the lives as Lawton wrote: 'Roberto Di Matteo did say Barcelona do not enjoying playing Chelsea but the language might be a bit stronger after this. They must hate it, their frustration illustrated at the sound of the final whistle by Sergio Busquets launching the match ball high into the East Stand.

'It was not what they would call football. It was not even what Cesc Fabregas so dismissively referred to as the long-ball tactics. It was more high risk than that, Chelsea allowing Barcelona to have the ball and then take the punishment the classy Catalans would dish out in the hope of surviving long enough to get a chance of their own.

'It was a strategy that demanded the highest levels of discipline and concentration, a test as mentally draining as it was physically.'

Defend for your lives: Roberto Di Matteo had a very clear plan on how to counter Guardiola's side

Only takes a second: Drogba got the only goal of the game at Stamford Bridge

Barcelona's near-perfection at home, tika-takared in Guardiola's unique way, saw them prevail in three of those four knockout ties.
But that doesn't detract from the struggles and the anxious moments the manager has faced in England.

Bayern are similar - the team to beat in this year's competition. The mechanics of the machine are closely linked and the quality of individuals comparable.

It is very much like playing Pep's Barca - and he's very much beatable over here.

Arsenal's Invincibles and Mourinho's original Chelsea team? OVERRATED... It's Benitez who is the best foreign coach we've had in Premier League .

Wenger’s Invincibles? Overrated. Check the records, they lost to Middlesbrough, Chelsea and Manchester United that season.
Mourinho bringing the title to Chelsea for the first time in 50 years back in 2005? So what. With the money he had available he should have dominated the Premier League AND the Champions League with Chelsea, but he didn’t.
But Liverpool winning the Champions League in 2005? Now that is what I call a seriously brilliant achievement, and, for me, that is what makes Rafa Benitez the best foreign coach ever to have worked in England.

Historic: Rafa Benitez's (right) Liverpool came from three goals down to beat Milan in the 2005 Champions League final. Steven Gerrard (left) captained the Spaniard's side to glory in Istanbul

Flying the flag: Liverpool won Europe's top competition for the fifth time under Benitez's leadership

Disbelief: Gerrard lets the feeling sink in after the final whistle at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium

If you count up trophies then there are foreign managers who have come to the Premier League and won more than Rafa Benitez. But I’m talking about pound-for-pound achievement.
Liverpool Football Club were adept at winning the trophies almost unwanted by big clubs with huge ambition - FA Cups, League Cups and a UEFA Cup.
But the huge hand of history on the club’s shoulder was way too weighty for most managers to bear at Anfield.
The years were ticking by and any dreams of being champions of England or Europe were becoming more and more distant.
At Liverpool, Benitez arrived in 2004, immediately persuaded Steven Gerrard to stay, made a big decision to let Michael Owen leave, signed Xabi Alonso and then, somehow, turned Liverpool into the champions of Europe in his first season.
Benitez found a Liverpool squad with poor dietary habits and a lack of discipline, who had finished 30 points behind the champions Arsenal and suffered UEFA Cup humiliation at the hands of Marseille.
His first task was to head to Portugal to sit down with Gerrard. The Liverpool captain was with the England squad at Euro 2004, and was all set for a move to Chelsea for £36million, according to reports. Benitez kept his main man.
He also told Jamie Carragher he was a centre half, not a full back, and played him in his best position, something the previous manager had failed to do.
A year later, Carragher was a colossus in a Champions League semi-final at Anfield against Chelsea, and Gerrard was man of the match in the final.
After arriving at Highbury, Arsene Wenger led Arsenal from their blip under Bruce Rioch, to title glory. Under George Graham a few years before some of those same players had won a couple of titles, and had even won a trophy in Europe, something Wenger has still failed to do.
Mourinho was able to break transfer records in order to elevate Chelsea to a title they craved.
Two successful foreign managers: but neither did the things Benitez did at Liverpool. Think beyond trophy-counting for a moment, and open your mind to what Rafa really achieved.
He gave Liverpool fans an emotional football experience, an amazing night, the kind of night none of those other managers can match. He understood the fans, he joined them unexpectedly in a bar in Cologne ahead of a Champions League tie.

Cunning: Benitez saw Jamie Carragher (left) as a centre half rather than a full back

Overrated? Arsene Wenger (right) led the likes of Kolo Toure (left) to the Premier League in 2004. Unbeaten over the 38 games, Wenger's side became known as the Invincibles

Romp: Jose Mourinho and his impressive Chelsea team lifted the Premier League trophy in 2005

He threw himself into what it meant to be a fan, a Liverpool fan. He embraced the club, its history and its traditions. And the fans loved him in return.
What’s more he took an unconvincing bunch of players at the extremes on the talent scale – from Djimi Traore to Steven Gerrard – to the pinnacle of European success. He masterminded the comeback from a seemingly impossible position, 3-0 down to Milan at half-time in the final.
That fifth European Cup now belongs to Liverpool Football Club.
The others had their successes, but nothing comes close to that night in Istanbul. I may be wrong, but I don’t think Liverpool fans would swap that special night in Istanbul for anything achieved by Wenger or Mourinho in England.

Fans favourite: Liverpool supporters hold a tribute to Benitez when he returned with Chelsea last season

Two trips to Old Trafford since my MailOnline column last week have done nothing to convince me David Moyes has the tactical knowledge to take Manchester United forward.
Brendan Rodgers outthought Moyes tactically in the first half of the Capital One Cup tie, and but for a bit of sharpness in front of goal, Liverpool could have been out of sight by the time Jose Enrique was caught napping at a set-piece seconds into the second half. Victor Moses’s free header was aimed at David De Gea, and in the end it was an unconvincing United win.

Wonder kid: Saido Berahino netted the winner against Manchester United at Old Trafford

Underwhelming: David Moyes could not get the best from Shinji Kagawa (right) or Marouane Fellaini (left)

Struggle: Moyes has endured a rocky start as Manchester United manager

Hitting the shelves: Adrian Durham's new book, Is He All That?, is released next week

So on Saturday I returned and saw a central midfield pairing of Michael Carrick and Anderson, Shinji Kagawa shoved out on the wing, Nani on the other wing, and Buttner unprotected at left-back. Throw in an absolute nightmare from Rio Ferdinand and United were beaten. Not even the mantra: ‘If in doubt, hit Fellaini’ worked, when the big man came on.
Moyes needs to get up to speed and fast, if he is to convince the doubters.
But with Wayne Rooney in the side, there is always hope.
He has shown quality, he has a strong work ethic, and he has added discipline to his game. He has made himself undroppable. Surely not even Moyes would be foolish enough to consider leaving Rooney out?
The curious case of Leighton Baines
The Everton Invincibles go marching on, but I am left with one question? Why does Leighton Baines shrink when he plays for England?
Against Newcastle he was whipping in balls, having shots, trying free kicks, making surging runs, dribbling, playing one-twos. Standard kind of Everton performance from Baines, and it was a joy to watch.
But stick an England shirt on him, and he looks hesitant, almost like he feels he doesn’t belong in such esteemed company. We all know he’s good enough, but he plays within himself for England, and that’s why Ashley Cole still gets the nod

Wilting: Leighton Baines (left) struggles to replicate his club form for the England side

Pick that one out: Baines netted two free-kicks against West Ham last month

Two years ago in an interview with MailOnline, Baines said this when asked about Capello’s decision to leave him at home and take Stephen Warnock (yes, Stephen Warnock) to the World Cup instead: ‘I did take stock in the summer and felt I needed to be bolder. I’d go away with England and look at everyone else and think how natural it seemed to them while I was just trying to be part of it.’
Since then Baines has set up a crucial goal in a qualifier against Switzerland, and scored from a free-kick in Moldova. He is 28 now Leighton Baines, so I think it’s time now that he got the nod over Ashley Cole.
It would be the decision of a brave manager. Over to you Roy…

Andre Villas-Boas should ban himself from taking Christian Eriksen off.
Had the Spurs manager been brave and kept the Dane on the pitch against Chelsea I have no doubt Spurs would have won.
But he swapped Lewis Holtby for Eriksen to stiffen up the midfield to try to stop Chelsea dominating. The change didn’t work – Andre Schurrle went clean through and only a stunning save from Hugo Lloris kept Spurs level.

Main man: Christian Eriksen has shone since his arrival at Tottenham this summer

And then Fernando Torres saw red and Spurs seized the initiative again. Had their playmaker been on the field, he might have pulled the strings to seal the win.
AVB is getting a lot right, but caution didn’t pay at the Lane on Saturday. I hope he learns from his mistake.

Think bigger! Arsene Wenger isn't eyeing the Premier League trophy with Arsenal just yet

Why does Arsene Wenger think it’s ‘ridiculous’ to talk of Arsenal winning the title?
United look poor, City are inconsistent and more keen for European success, Chelsea are without a striker, Spurs have so many new faces, Liverpool have a good XI but not a lot else.
And Arsenal sit on top of the table.
This has to be the best opportunity Arsene Wenger has had in some time to seize control of the Premier League and win the title.
In fact I would say this: given the circumstances the clubs around him find themselves in, it will be a spectacular failure from Arsene Wenger if the Gunners don’t win the title this season. Let’s see if he’s up to it.