January and the African Exodus

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

Manchester City, trailing Manchester United by seven points, faced the once mighty Arsenal devoid of YaYa Toure tour de force in mid-field and Kolo Toure’s sometime presence as a substitute central defender, came along with 2-0 victory and coveted 3 points.

Arsenal is mired in a quizzical state of stagnation. In two years they have lost five world class players and replaced them with “so-so” players. Not long into the Arsenal vs Manchester City game, Koscielny was issued a red card as he prevented Dzeko from scoring with a wrestling tackle. Arsenal was condemned to play the juggernautish City with ten men.

Down 2-0, Arsenal gave a better account of themselves in the second half. Young Wilshire was his old penetrating self. The injury-prone Diaby returned and played sixty minutes without sustaining another injury. To return to form, Diaby needs time on the pitch.

Arsenal will not bring any new players in the transfer market. A player like Falcao would be a great addition but Wenger and the Arsenal management are not risk takers. All signs point to Arsenal ending this season below fourth place and losing money by not qualifying for the lucrative UEFA Championship League.

Brandon Rogers Reconstruction of Liverpool

Liverpool is in the throes of a makeover and is still far below the elite clubs. They acquired Daniel Sturridge in the January market and he did not start but came on in the second half and finished off a goal after a well struck ball by their skipper, Gerrard. Liverpool’s mid-field is quite ordinary and Garrick, Cleverly and Welbeck simply out-wizard them in the first half.

Even before the whistle blew to start the game, we knew that Skertel and Agger could not contain Van Persie who opened the scoring with a Van Persie-like finish. Evra scored the second goal from a Van Persie free kick, the 5 ft. 8 in. defender leaping above the opposition. That was his fifth goal for the season, quite a remarkable record for a left back.

Rogers lost much of Johnson’s ability by starting him at left full back. Johnson is not as effective going forward from the left side as he is from the right side. Their leading goal scorer, Suarez, was not a factor in the game. The substitutions that Rogers made to the Liverpool team did not change the game. He took off Sterling and kept Downing in the game and Downing has the distinction of playing for ninety undistinguished minutes.

QPR vs Tottenham

Harry Redknapp faced his old club and for ninety minutes for the first time this season kept Tottenham scoreless. Queens Park Rangers managed a point but remained poised for relegation. Mark Hughes was a disaster as a manager but old Harry used some old tricks to extract the best from his new team since his debut. Sean Wright-Phillips has returned to form and the team is defensively less porous. Harry has a steep hill to climb for Queens Park Rangers to avoid relegation.

Rains and Drought of Goals

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

This week the rains pelted the ballplayers as they tried to execute passes in the last third under trying conditions. Even before the rains cometh, coaching storms have been brewing in the E.P.L. Di Matteo has made an early exit from Chelsea as Chelsea made a pre-mature exit from the Championship League. Di Matteo won the Championship League last season but Abramovich spends his millions and demands immediate gratification. Rafael Benitez will now walk the Chelsea tightrope.

Chelsea vs Manchester City

Under difficult conditions Chelsea and Manchester City played to a deserving nil all draw. Both Chelsea and Manchester City pack potent offenses but the respective defensive unites closed down the passing lanes in the last third.

Manchester City was more fluid in their passing and Yaya Toure as usual was the general in mid-field. But his strikers could not create the necessary spaces to be effective.

Soccer must be admired not just for the offensive prowess of forwards but the defensive grit of central defenders and full backs. Chelsea’s central defender, Kompany, has emerged as one of the top defenders in the E.P.L.

Swansea vs Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers is walking on thin ice at Liverpool but the management at Liverpool are not as trigger happy as Chelsea’s Abramovich. Liverpool also played to a nil all draw against Swansea. Liverpool is still a work in progress and one wonders if the Liverpool squad as presently constituted can rise to the top of the heap in the E.P.L. There is Suarez and Sterling and Gerard but Liverpool suffers from a dearth of mid-field creativity.

Liverpool created most of the chances yet Swansea possessed the ball with greater ease but lacked finesse in the last third.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa

Arsene Wenger is not in danger of being fired but there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. Villa and Arsenal played to a scoreless draw. The new acquisitions at Arsenal have not demonstrated much offensive guile. At this rate, Arsenal will fall below the top four. They failed to score against a porous Aston Villa defense, a team in the regulation zone. Arsenal’s finances are in fine shape and their financial success is a far cry from what is being accomplished by Wenger’s ammunition-less Arsenal.

Manchester United vs Queens Park Rangers

The Queens Park Rangers’ crew gave Mark Hughes a great deal of rope but he kept using it to hang himself and to trip up the team. Q.P.R. owners’ cups eventually ran over and they have put Hughes out to pasture and brought in Tottenham’s ex-boss, Harry Redknapp.

Unfortunately, Q.P.R. was up against the best finishing team in the League. Manchester United have parked Nani but they are firing on all cylinders with Van Persie, Rooney, Welbeck and Young. Their problem is what do they do with “Chicharito” Hernandez, the scoring machine. How do you not play Van Persie and Rooney?

Manchester United spanked Q.P.R. 3-1 to return to the top of the table. If they continue to score goals in bunches, then they will soon break away from their rivals in the E.P.L.

Mancini’s Moment of Hope

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

Mancini’s Manchester City captured their old form and simply tore apart Norwich’s defense on Saturday afternoon. Tevez was terrific scoring a hat trick. Aguero was prolific and scored a brace. Yaya Toure was an unstoppable force. Manchester City won 5-1 and closed the gap by two points leading Manchester United.

Manchester had veered off course as they lost 1-0 to Wigan. But this Sunday playing at home, Manchester United destroyed Aston Villa. Aston Villa is a team investing in their young players but the truth of the matter is that they are not ready for prime time. They are lucky that they are out of the regulation runnings.

Dalglish Sputters

By Bagga Wilks

Kenny Dalglish made some canny moves over the summer to acquire Charley Adam, Downing, Henderson and before Suarez and Carrol. They seemed poised for greatness but suffered a meltdown against Tottenham.

Harry Redknapp didn’t make that many moves over the summer. He adroitly acquired Adebayor and Scott Parker, kept Modric and jettisoned Crouch. Against Liverpool, Redknapp’s two acquisitions, Parker and Adebayor, played magnificently. Parker was his usual busy self in mid-field and Adebayor took up where he left off when he was one of the premier strikers in the EPL.

Liverpool had an emotional letdown. Charley Adam received a red early in the first half. Then Skrtel who had Bale skirting around him for the entire time he was on the field also joined Charley Adam with a red card. Yellow cards and red cards are becoming a menace in football. Eleven against ten is an unfair advantage much less eleven against nine.

In addition to keeping his Liverpool players on the field, Dalglish needs to shore up his defends. He has acquired Sebastian Coates, the young Uruguayan, a central defender but it will take him some time to adapt to the speed of the English game. Liverpool and Arsenal seem to be swimming in the same leaky boat. Harry Redknapp has the horses to finish among the elite.

The First Battle of the Titans

The Manchester United vs Chelsea game lived up to the expectations. In the first half, it was clear that the Chelsea defenders could not cope with the Manchester assault. Not long after the referee blew his whistle, Chelsea were three down with goals by Smalling, Rooney and Nani.

Chelsea came alive in the second half and there are signs that Torres is awakening from his long slumber. He ran off the ball well and Anelka delivered an exquisite through ball which Torres deposited in the back of the net. He received another perfect through pass from Ramires, beat the goalkeeper and blew the “sitter”. But Torres and his coach should not be daunted by him missing the “sitter”. The key is that he is making the beautiful runs that have made him a thorn in the side of defenders.

Manchester United is a cut above the rest in the EPL. Manchester City allowed Fulham to come from behind and tie them to a 2-2 draw.

The EPL is off to a great start and Manchester United, even though the last four intermittently looked shaky, the offensive weapons are too variegated for defender to cope. Rooney, Nani, Young, Chicharito and Anderson are playing at a level that their match up with Barca later in the season should be an epic.