Football June
Contents 8
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Football
Season
overview 2011/2012 Premiership What an absolutely incredible end to the Premiership season. Somehow in the space of 6 games Manchester United had thrown away their 8 point lead and now with only goal difference separating the two Manchester sides it came down to the last game of the season. Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City hosted QPR and Manchester United were away at Sunderland. On paper it looked like an easy home win and a tricky away win and yet as it turned out it was anything but as simple. United did their bit and overcame Sunderland 1-0 and with City being 2-1 down and playing injury time then Manchester United were celebrating their 20th league title. Job done or so it seemed.
Alex Ferguson
Roberto Mancini
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After seeing United’s victory celebrations at Blackburn 6 games earlier I thought to myself that looks a little presumptuous. That City overtook United’s 8 point lead was a minor miracle. That City somehow managed to score 2 goals in extra time (aka Fergie time) was something you couldn’t have written. Full credit to City because they continued to go for the win and their patience eventually paid off. Down to 10 men thanks to the idiocy of Joey Barton wanting to fight just about every City player on the pitch City dominated the last 30 minutes and finally with a minute of extra time on the clock, Dzeko popped up to head in a goal. City sensing that they could still win the title poured everyone forward and luckily the ball came to the new genius in the Maradona clan, Kun Aguero. Nipping into the penalty area with the assuredness of his uncle, the legendary Diego Maradona, Aguero skilfully blasted the ball into the net. Game over. Cut to mass celebrations of City players piling onto each other, cut to ecstatic City fans hugging, kissing and crying and cut to Manchester United players/ fans looking in disbelief that all was lost. Alex Ferguson accepted defeat gracefully enough knowing that if a team ends up top over 38 games then they deserve to win the title. Fergie will hate it though as he hates to lose but he’ll hate it even more because with an 8 point lead with 6 games to go he’ll know that his team had thrown it away. Further down, Arsenal (after their disastrous start to the season) ended up in third place, meaning for the 16th season running, they’ll be playing in the Champions league. Pretty awesome considering the amount Wenger spends.
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Make no mistake, Newcastle had a brilliant season. That they were challenging up until the last game was a testament to their team spirit and managerial intellect from Alan Pardew. While Manchester City may have been the best team, Newcastle was the best run. Sound management, sound player buys and sound financial decisions have made Newcastle one to be admired. That they’ve done this under the ownership of Mike Ashley is surprising but fair’s fair, he’s done a sound job even when most of those decisions looked mad at the time.
Football
Spurs came fourth which normally would be enough to get into the Champions league, but with Chelsea winning the Final against Bayern, Spurs lose out on the Champions league. The speculation of Harry Redknapp leaving for England certainly cost them.
Alan Pardew
Chelsea ended up 6th but as they won the Champions league final they won’t really care much about that. Everton did well ending up 7th after spending no money and Liverpool were a disaster after spending a ridiculous amount of money to end up a place below last season. That it was the lowest premier league place since 93/94 under the dark days of Souness, the lowest points since 1953/54 and the worse home scoring record since 1903 then to win the Carling cup cannot hide this. Last seasons Carling cup winners, Birmingham also thought they did well and after winning, promptly got relegated. There are parallels here as Liverpool’s form since Xmas has been relegation form. 3 days after the season ended, the American owners, FSG, sacked Kenny Dalglish, sad but necessary.
Kenny Dalglish The three promoted clubs (Norwich, Blackburn and Bolton) all survived in the league playing well in the main. Bolton joined Wolves and Blackburn in relegation, mainly due to a horrific referee decision that effectively sent Bolton down.
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11
Football
Champions League Against many predictions (mine included) the underdogs in both semi finals won through and they did so with style. Bayern beat Real Madrid with some style while Chelsea managed to defend with zeal against the onslaught of Barcelona. Barca didn’t take their chances against Chelsea which was more or less a mirror image of the Bayern Munich v Chelsea final. Bayern could have been 4-0 up by half time but the more Bayern missed the chances the more Chelsea gained belief. They had to defend due to 4 of their best players missing and as it was at their home ground, Bayern Munich needed to show the will to win. They did that but they seemed to leave their shooting boots at home as time after time Robben, Ribery et al skied the ball into the heavens. They did finally break the deadlock with Muller stealing in with a header and then Bayern seemed to think they’d won it. In the last ten minutes of extra time Chelsea had other ideas and they thoroughly deserved the equaliser with Drogba being particularly good. Drogba didn’t dive (like he did against Barca) whereas Robben and Ribery were falling all over the place. Cheating I call it and they should ban the players after the game and hand out suspensions, it would soon stop. In extra time, Robben like Messi in the semi’s, missed a penalty and from there on it, Chelsea did enough. Penalties are always a lottery but it was quite refreshing to see the Germans bottle it for a change. Good stuff Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho
Spanish League In Spain, Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid held their nerve and deservedly took the title, scoring more goals and reaching the 100 point mark for the first time. Barcelona challenged for a while but the crucial game came down to the game between them and Real won 2-1. With that loss, Pep Guardiola the Barca Manager promptly resigned. A sad day considering the brilliant play he brought to Barca in his 4 year stay. Valencia came third and the brilliant news is that Malaga gained the 4th place in the Champions league for the first time in their history. If the Arab owners continue to back the manager Pellegrini then Malaga can become an established club who might even challenge the likes of Barca and Real.
Pep Guardiola
Incredibly Villareal, who came 2nd in the league 3 seasons ago and were storming through the champions league at the same time somehow got themselves relegated. To good to go down? Wasn’t in the case of Nottingham Forest and it wasn’t the case for Villareal this season.
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MEN’S MAGAZINE
2012
Football
EURO 8TH JUNE 1ST JULY
n us o p u is 2 1 0 2 o So Eur ament is n r u o t is h t if and ing to d n e e h t e k li anything emiership r P d n a e u g a s le the Champion treat. l a e r a r o f in e then we will b
from strength to e n o g e v a h n e ce th they remain the ears ago and sin y ce 4 n e s ri ro e u p E x e e is th th n With Spain wo s might find a rld Cup as well. o ie tr W n e u th co n r o e w th d o n and strength a ey’re older now d (if the right n th la t g u n b E re n o e v m e e ce b n d may favourites o nd become the any, Holland an a rm in e a G p S r. u m o o fr rm a y awa chink in their to take the title le b a p ca ll a re a team is played) of Europe. new Champions
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GROUP A
ublic.
Football
h Rep c e z C e h t d ssia an
ece, Ru e r G , d n a l o P Russia
While a pale shadow of their former selves, the Russians still contain a few players who have played at the highest levels in Europe. They might be getting on a bit but they will see this tournament as their final chance to make a mark. The crafty Dutch manager, Dick Advocaat, is experienced enough to play the team to their strengths. Keep in mind also that despite their age, they still ended up top of the qualifying group so they’re certainly not here to make up the numbers. Ex Premiership players like Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal) and Pavluychenko (Spurs) will no doubt feature with Yuri Zhirkov (Chelsea) on the wing. Attacking midfielder Alan Dzagoev can also score goals as can Aleksandr Kerzhakov.
Poland
Polish manager Franciszek Smuda has done a Jack Charlton and scoured for players with Polish ties. Poland plays at a fast pace and this can cause problems for even the biggest clubs. Their midfield is strong and the Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski is a fantastic striker, who can hold up the ball, drop deep and can certainly score a hatful of goals (he’s scored 30 goals this season – 3 against European Champions League finalists, Bayern Munich). Lukasz Piszczek is also one to look out for as he can play as forward or nippy right winger but actually plays as right back!
Czech Republic
The Czech republic are managed by the double act of Michal Bilek and ex Liverpool player Vladimir Smicer. Both are up against it as all the talented old guard that made the Czechs a name in world football have long since retired. The only players of real note are Michal Kadlec, the Bayer Leverkusen left back scored four goals in the qualifying rounds and Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech the only real class act, incredibly still only 29 it seems he’s been around for ever.
Greece
Greece is managed by the Portuguese coach Fernando Santos. The team builds play from the back and tried to control midfield. The Greeks have a solid enough defence and as they ended up top of their qualifying group (in the qualifiers they won 7 out of ten games) they could be dark horses. Sotiris Ninis is a flair attacking winger who is definitely a star for the future. At only 22 he shows a lot of promise and this tournament may see him shine. Other youngsters such as Schalke player Kyriakos Papadopoulos, 20, who plays as holding midfielder can score important goals. Bundesliga player Costas Fortounis, 19, and Greece-based Yiannis Fetfatzidis, 21 could also come good.
Overall
On the face of it, Group A is the easiest group of the four. Poland are hosts and they’ll certainly fancy their chances to qualify in the top 2. I don’t think the Czechs have any hope and so that leaves either Greece or Russia to go through. If the Greek youngsters manage to shine then they could just cause a few upsets.
Predictions Poland v Greece: Friday June 8, Warsaw With home advantage I think Poland will win this one. Just. 1-0. Russia v Czech Republic: Friday June 8, Wroclaw I can’t see the Czech’s getting anything from the Russians so I’ll go for a 2-0 win for Russia. Greece v Czech Republic: Tuesday June 12, Wroclaw Greece to win here 2-1. Poland v Russia: Tuesday June 12, Warsaw A tough game and one which will decide who ends on top. Even though Poland are on home turf I think Russia have enough experience to win through. A close encounter of 0-1 to Russia. Czech Republic v Poland: Saturday June 16, Wroclaw Poland to Win 2-0 Greece v Russia: Saturday June 16, Warsaw Interesting game because it could be very close. Will go with Russia only because of their experience. 1-2 to Russia.
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Holland, De n
any and Po
rtugal.
Germany
The Germans are always going to be one of the favourites. With Joachim Low they play with a freedom that they haven’t normally enjoyed. Strong under Jurgen Klinsmann, Low has taken Germany to another level. Low putting his faith in youngsters and so in the world cup 2010 a young untested side exploded onto the scene and after thrashing England (despite the definite Lampard goal to equalise) they could have quite easily gone on to win. With added experience in the last two years they could win the Euro 2012 tournament. With Mesut Ozil now fully experienced by playing for Real Madrid, the colossus Bastian Schweinsteiger, Neuer in goal, Podolski and Klose in attack then they can beat anyone on the day. Also one to keep an eye out for are the Bayern Munich attacking midfielder, Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze who has been likened to a certain Lionel Messi.
Football
mark, Germ
GROUP B
Netherlands
With a team made up of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Klass-Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie Holland are not short of world class attacking talent. The Coach Bert van Marwijk likes to play 2 defensive midfielders (usually Kevin Strootman and Mark van Bommel) behind those 3 attackers and with Dirk Kuyt running around on the right like the Duracell bunny that he is. In qualifying Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored 12 goals in 8 games and with Wesley Sneijder on top form, Van Persie scoring 30 goals for Arsenal this season, the Dutch must be in the top three as favourites. One slight problem is if Huntelaar and Van Persie get a game at all. The Dutch have been playing with one striker and 5 in midfield and one of those inform strikers could lose out. Kevin Strootman is a similar player to Roy Keane and keeping Nigel de Jong out of the side. If the Dutch would drop the fouling/diving antics of Mark van Bommel and make room for two strikers then they could easily go on and win it. If Robben had taken his two chances 2 years ago in the World Cup final against Spain then they would be current world champions, if anything the Dutch are a better side in 2012.
Portugal
With coach Paulo Bento, Portugal have begun to play good football once more after the Carlos Queiroz era of chaining up his best player, Cristiano Ronaldo. With Pepe, Quaresma, Coentrao, Meireles, Nani and Moutinho, Portugal have enough players to do well in the tournament. Ronaldo is in stunning form after scoring 112 goals (!!) in 102 games in the last 2 years. If it wasn’t for Lionel Messi then Ronaldo would easily be seen as the best player on the planet but he ain’t that far off.
Denmark
Rank outsiders to do anything in the group, Denmark do at least have a few players of note. Ajax star Christian Eriksen is Denmark’s star man and has recently been linked with a move to Liverpool in the summer. As an attacking midfielder he has been likened to the great Michael Laudrup. There is also Simon Kjaer in defence who has a touch of the Beckenbauers and can pass beautifully out of defence. Blackburn’s Pederson, Sunderlands Bendtner and ex Liverpool Christian Poulsen, Sorenson and Daniel Agger are all familiar players.
Overall Group B is rightly called the Group of Death containing Holland and Germany. Portugal had a woeful qualifying campaign and so was placed as third seed. Strangely enough Holland and Germany may benefit from a tough group and so be fighting fit for the next rounds. Portugal has the potential to cause an upset but I still see Holland and Germany as the stronger sides.
Predictions
Holland to win comfortably. 3-0. Holland v Denmark, Saturday June 9, Kharkiv Germany to win 1-0. Germany v Portugal, Saturday June 9, lviv Portugal to win 1-0. Denmark v Portugal, Wednesday June 13, lviv rkiv Holland v Germany, Wednesday June 13, Khar draw. 1-1. a be t migh also it but Should be a cracking game A win for the Dutch but only just. 1-2 to Holland. Portugal v Holland, Sunday June 17, Kharkiv to Germany. I can’t see anything but a German win here. 0-2 Denmark v Germany, Sunday June 17, lviv
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GROUP C
Football
roatia. C d n a d n a l public of Ire
, Re Spain, Italy Spain
Current World and European champions Spain are top favourites. With the likes of Ramos, Pique, Busquets, Alonso, Xavi, Fabregas, Iniesta, Silva and Llorente they have the tried and tested players to win the tournament once more. Torres may not even get in the squad such is the embarrassment of riches at Vicente del Bosque’s disposal. With David Villa being injured Fernando Llorente takes strike duties. Strong and good in the air he’s been paying out of his skin for Athletic Bilbao.
Italy
The Italians are renowned for their defensive style and maintained that in the qualifying rounds by conceding only 2. Under their coach Cesare Prandelli they’re playing good attacking football based on controlling the midfield. With Buffon in goal and the strike force of Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli and Milan forward, Antonio Cassano who scored six times in the qualifying rounds, they can more than match many in the tournament. There has been a run in between coach and Balotelli already as the coach doesn’t like hot heads who can be sent off at any moment. We shall see if Balotelli can keep his anger in check.
Republic of Ireland
Hard to beat with a solid defence and a great goalkeeper in Shay Given. In defence old heads bring experience with veterans John O’Shea, Richard Dunne helping out Sean St Ledge and Stephen Ward. Aiden McGeady who plays for Spartak Moscow and Damien Duff (Fulham) provide width in midfield and Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle can score up front. Keane scored 7 goals in the qualifiers and now plies his trade for LA Galaxy with David Beckham. Keane maybe slower than in the past but he still knows where the goal is and as the American MLS league stopped in January he won’t be tired.
Croatia
With a few stars likes Luka Modric, Nico Kranjcar and Vedran Corluka, Croatia could cause a few problems. Luka Modric stands out as the class act in the team and with rumour that he is off to Real Madrid he’ll want to impress even more here, pity he doesn’t score goals though. Croatia have problems in defence but at least on the right wing/right back is Croatia’s captain Darijo Srna who can score and deliver good crosses.
Overall
At first glance the group looks like a forgone conclusion for both Spain and Italy, but for all their heart the Irish will be swept away, Croatia once more could cause some awkward moments and if Spain or Italy aren’t on top of their game, there could be a surprise or two.
Predictions Spain v Italy, Sunday June 10, Gdansk Has all the hallmarks of a classic game. Italy are no longer as defensive as they used to be and could cause a lot of problems for the Spanish, they may even pull off a shock. I’ll go for a draw. 1-1. Republic of Ireland v Croatia, Sunday June 10, Poznan This game will be Ireland’s only realistic chance of putting some points on the board so they’ll certainly be up for it. With that spirit they could even get a shock result. But it’ll probably end up as a draw. 1 -1. Italy v Croatia, Thursday June 14, Poznan Italy to win 2-0. Spain v Republic of Ireland, Thursday June 14, Gdansk Spain to win 3-1. Croatia v Spain, Monday June 18, Gdansk Spain to win 2-0. Italy v Republic of Ireland, Monday June 18, Poznan Theoretically if Ireland win this game they could go through instead of Italy. So with a lot of heart and the coaching skills of the old Italian boss Giovanni Trapattoni then you might see a shock here. A draw will do the Italians though so I’ll still go with Italy going through to the next round. A possible draw though 1-1.
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GROUP D nd.
England
Hmm England expects. Expects what exactly? To get to a quarter final and go out to some decision where the referee has no choice but to send off one of our players when they do something stupid perhaps? We could go quite far as long as we manage to contain some of the diva’s in the squad. If we play as a unit we certainly have the players (with a bit of luck) to go on to the semis. Our goal keeper, Hart has been superb this season. Ashley Cole is also world class. Terry is slowing down, Johnson is good going forward, and to be fair has got better at defending. Cahill is steady and an a-typical centre back. In midfield we have the ‘what might have beeners’ of Lampard and Gerrard – Part of the golden generation who did nothing in the international field but certainly did so for their premiership clubs. Parker/Barry will fit in as defensive midfield, not world class but good enough. At least we have the young Arsenal two of Walcott and Oxlade Chamberlain who can inject pace on the wings. If all our midfield players play well, then we could certainly control midfield against the majority of nations. As long as one of our strikers can run quite well and hit the target then they’ll have done their job.
Football
Ukraine, Sw eden, Franc e and Engla
France
After the mutiny against Raymond Domenech during World Cup 2010, the French appointed Laurent Blanc. Over the following 2 years Blanc has transformed the team into a far better unit. France look a tight unit at the back with Hugo Lloris in goal and with Arsenal’s Bacary Sagna, Milan’s Philippe Mexes, Valencia’s Adil Rami and Man United’s Patrice Evra. Evra may be getting slower nowadays in the premiership, but at slower paced internationals, his experience gets him through. In midfield Yann M’Vila, Samir Nasri (Manchester City), Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle) and Frank Ribery are the flair players, with in form Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) up front.
Sweden
Sweden have a good balance to their squad. They have a strong defence and tend to rely on counter attack. Kim Kallstrom in midfield created 7 assists in the qualifying rounds (more than any other player) and he’ll be one to be aware of. Their star player is Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has played in Barcelona and is currently at Milan. He’s scored 28 goals this season and is in red hot form.
Ukraine
One of the best strikers ever to grace the game for Milan, Andriy Shevchenko is now at the last part of his career. At least he can say his goodbyes on home turf. Andriy Yarmolenko is a good replacement though and at the age of 21 he looks like he’ll have a long and fruitful career. But that’s about it for Ukraine and I can’t see them getting much out of the group.
Overall
I can only see England and France qualify from this group and I still think if we play the right formation that we can beat France for first place and a better draw in the quarter finals. Sure France beat us a couple of friendlies ago with Benzema getting the winning goal but hey it was still only a friendly. If we keep it strong in midfield then we can end up top. Sweden may give a few scares though which is to be expected but as long as we play to our strengths then we should be ok.
Predictions
met it was a win for France, but if we can France v England, Monday June 11, Donetsk Last time both teams to England. 1-0 day. the attack Patrice Evra and keep it tight in midfield we can win age and so as it’s the first game they Ukraine v Sweden, Monday June 11, Kiev Ukraine have home advant s draw though. 0-0. play in the tournament they will certainly be up for it. Might be a goalles for England and they certainly Sweden v England, Friday June 15, Kiev Sweden can always be a problem have history against us but I’m still going for an England win. 2-0. Ukraine v France, Friday June 15, Donetsk France to win 2-0. of Rooney will bring an England win. If England v Ukraine, Tuesday June 19, Donetsk The possible return get into the team which might teach England have been playing well so far and scoring Rooney may not even d. him from doing stupid petulant things, I doubt it though. 2-0 to Englan Sweden v France, Tuesday June 19, Kiev France to beat Sweden 1-0. 17
EURO 2012 8TH JUNE 1ST JULY
GROUP
A
Poland Greece Russia Czech Republic
B GROUP nds Netherla Denmark Germany Portugal
C GROUP Spain Italy Republic d of Irelan Croatia
GROUP
D
Ukraine Sweden France England
Group Stages
FRIDAY 8TH JUNE
TUESDAY 12TH JUNE
SATURDAY 16TH JUNE
Match 01 - 18.00
Match 09 - 18.00
Match 17 - 20.45
-vPoland ..............................................Greece
-vGreece .....................................Czech Rep.
-vCzech Rep. .....................................Poland
National Stadium, Warsaw
City Stadium, Wrocław
City Stadium, Wrocław
Match 02 - 20.45
Match 10 - 20.45
Match 18 - 20.45
-vRussia .......................................Czech Rep.
-vPoland ................................................Russia
-vGreece ................................................Russia
City Stadium, Wrocław
National Stadium, Warsaw
National Stadium, Warsaw
SATURDAY 9TH JUNE
WEDNESDAY 13TH JUNE
SUNDAY 17TH JUNE
Match 03 - 18.00
Match 11 - 18.00
Match 19 - 20.45
-vNetherlands ........................... Denmark
-vDenmark.....................................Portugal
-vPortugal .............................Netherlands
Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv
Lviv New Stadium, Lviv
Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv
Match 04 - 20.45
Match 12 - 20.45
Match 20 - 20.45
-vGermany .....................................Portugal
-vNetherlands ............................Germany
-vDenmark....................................Germany
Lviv New Stadium, Lviv
Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv
Lviv New Stadium, Lviv
SUNDAY 10TH JUNE
THURSDAY 14TH JUNE
MONDAY 18TH JUNE
Match 05 - 18.00
Match 13 - 18.00
Match 21 - 20.45
-vSpain........................................................ Italy
-vItaly.................................................... Croatia
-vCroatia................................................. Spain
PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk
City Stadium, Poznań
PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk
Match 06 - 20.45
Match 14 - 20.45
Match 22 - 20.45
-vRep. Ireland ................................. Croatia
-vSpain......................................Rep. Ireland
-vItaly.........................................Rep. Ireland
City Stadium, Poznań
PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk
City Stadium, Poznań
MONDAY 11TH JUNE
FRIDAY 15TH JUNE
TUESDAY 19TH JUNE
Match 07 - 18.00
Match 15 - 18.00
Match 23 - 20.45
-vFrance ............................................England
-vUkraine .............................................France
-vEngland .........................................Ukraine
Donbass Arena, Donetsk
Donbass Arena, Donetsk
Donbass Arena, Donetsk
Match 08 - 20.45
Match 16 - 20.45
Match 24 - 20.45
-vUkraine ..........................................Sweden
-vSweden .........................................England
-vSweden .............................................France
Olimpiysky Ntl. Sports Complex, Kyiv
Olimpiysky Ntl. Sports Complex, Kyiv
Olimpiysky Ntl. Sports Complex, Kyiv
Quarter-Finals THURSDAY 21ST JUNE Match 25 - 20.45 -v1A ................................................................................................................................................................................ 2B National Stadium, Warsaw
FRIDAY 22ND JUNE Match 26 - 20.45
GROUP A Winner 1A ..............................................................
Runner-up 2A ..............................................................
-v1B ................................................................................................................................................................................2A PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk
SATURDAY 23RD JUNE Match 27 - 20.45 -v1C ................................................................................................................................................................................2D Donbass Arena, Donetsk
SUNDAY 24TH JUNE GROUP B Winner
Match 28 - 20.45 -v1D................................................................................................................................................................................2C Olimpiysky Ntl. Sports Complex, Kyiv
1B ..............................................................
Runner-up 2B ..............................................................
Semi-Finals WEDNESDAY 27TH JUNE
GROUP C
Match 29 - 20.45 -vMatch 25 winner .......................................................................................................... Match 27 winner
Winner
Donbass Arena, Donetsk
1C ..............................................................
THURSDAY 28TH JUNE
Runner-up 2C ..............................................................
GROUP D Winner 1D..............................................................
Runner-up 2D..............................................................
Match 30 - 20.45 -vMatch 26 winner .......................................................................................................... Match 28 winner National Stadium, Warsaw
Final SUNDAY 1ST JULY Match 31 - 20.45 -vMatch 29 winner .......................................................................................................... Match 30 winner Olimpiysky Ntl. Sports Complex, Kyiv
Football
England’s Euro Squad England Manager – Roy Hodgson !?
As it looks like the FA has also brought Roy in to be a safer pair of hands than ducking and diving Harry, then it remains to be seen that he can deliver. Hodgson may be good at smaller clubs with less expectation but as he’s now in the England hot seat the pressure on him will be incredible. I have my doubts but look forward to being proved wrong.
Euro 2012 squad One of Hodgson’s first acts is to chose the 23 man squad for the upcoming European Championships.
Roy Hodgson
Harry Redknapp
An interesting if curious decision from the FA to appoint Roy Hodgson as England Manager. The people’s favourite was Harry Redknapp and he seemed odds on favourite to take over at season’s end. After ‘arry’s acquittal from tax dodging it seemed that he had steered clear from any sleeze damage that might have come his way. It still didn’t help him and in the end the FA played safe and went for Hodgson.
It’s interesting though to note that as soon as Redknapp was linked with England, Spurs form slumped and as soon as Hodgson was appointed, belief returned to Spurs and helped them gain 4th spot. As for Hodgson he’s certainly got the international credentials. Coaching teams like Switzerland and Finland. Under his management Switzerland were ranked at 3rd in the world. He’s also managed sides like Inter Milan, Liverpool, Blackburn, Copenhagen, Grasshoppers and Fulham as well as teams in Sweden, Switzerland and Norway. Anyway, Roy Hodgson, he who was brought in to be a safe pair of hands at Liverpool. After 2 games he asked to be judged after 10, so the fans did and as Liverpool were in the bottom three, they weren’t too happy about it. His insistence of playing players out of position, having wine with Alex Ferguson and constantly whining about the fans not liking him meant that he was gone in 6 months. 20
menandautotrader.com june 2012
Leaving Rio Ferdinand out means there should be little of the Terry/Ferdinand race row to affect the team. That he has left Ferdinand out and taken Terry shows that Roy has chosen for the good of the team rather than let party politics control squad selection. Rio can’t play every 4 days as he would need to for Euro 2012, even Alex Ferguson admits that one. So if he can’t play that often then there’s no point taking him. That Roy’s gone with Terry shows that at least he believes that a man is innocent until proven guilty. If Terry is guilty then he’ll never play for England again and this could all have been sorted out before the championships but the courts chose not too. That the courts seemed to be able to judge all the summer rioters in next to no time highlights the odd decision for Terry’s judgement. But hey, I digress.
Strikers So Wayne Rooney has been included even though the hot head got himself banned for the first two games. It might cost us dearly. Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck has also been chosen so come the third match it could be a United front line. Roy didn’t decide on Peter Crouch which I think is a mistake because Crouch can create problems due to his height. I guess Roy thinks that by taking another big lad in Liverpool’s Andy Carroll he can get around this. With Rooney missing for 2 of the games, I think the strikers look a little weak. Welbeck is untried at this level and Carroll has only played once. Leaving Jermaine Defoe who has hardly played for Spurs all season and hasn’t played for England since September 2010.
Football
Midfield In midfield Roy has gone for Liverpool duo Stevie Gerrard (named England captain as well) and Stewart Downing, Chelsea’s Frank Lampard, Man City duo James Milner and Gareth Barry, Arsenals Alex OxladeChamberlain and Theo Walcott, Man United’s Ashley Young and Scott Parker from Spurs. So on the left wing we have Oxlade Chamberlain and Downing. On the right we have Young, Walcott and Gerrard maybe. In the centre we have Barry, Parker, Lampard and Milner. It seems we are well equipped in midfield, but that depends if the players can play together. Gerrard and Lampard have never played well together and as Roy listened to Gerrard’s need to play in central midfield then this might bring disaster once more.
Defence Our defence boasts of the Chelsea three Ashley Cole, Gary Cahill and John Terry, Liverpool’s Glenn Johnson, Phil Jones from Man United, Leighton Baines from Everton and Man City’s Joleon Lescott. We’re pretty much covered in defence though I would have taken Jagielka instead of Phil Jones.
Goalkeepers We’re taking 3 goalkeepers for some reason but I guess Ruddy form Norwich has gained the right to be involved. He wont play and neither will Rob Green as Joe Hart will play every game. Overall Hodgson seems to have picked a fairly decent squad from a fairly limited set of players. The injuries to Darren Bent, Jack Rodwell, Jack Wilshire and Kyle Walker
haven’t helped. Joe Cole, Crouch, Martin Kelly, Jagielka and Micah Richards were available but don’t seem to have got a look in. Time will tell.
So which team would I play with the players available? As our strikers look weak then I’d play five in midfield with Gerrard playing like he did under Benitez and just behind the striker in a fairly free roaming role. Gerrard fancies himself as some sort of central midfield lynchpin which he never is or ever will be. Benitez stopped such nonsense but Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish indulged him. The results got both latter managers sacked. So I’d have Welbeck upfront and Gerrard as back up. In midfield I’d go for Lampard and Barry in central midfield with Walcott on the right and Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left. Oxlade-Chamberlain has shown far more spark this season than Downing who to put it bluntly has been pretty woeful. In Defence I’d go for Cole on the left, Cahill and Terry in Central defence and Johnson on the right. I’m assuming Terry will have been fully rested for the Euros as he looked completely knackered against Liverpool where Carroll and Suarez nutmegged him three different times. If Terry hasn’t recovered then Lescott should get the shout. In goal it has to be Joe Hart, who has been pretty consistent all season. We’ll have to find out how Hodgson will play them. With Gerrard named captain I certainly hope he gets nowhere near central midfield.
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Football
Strikers
Wayne Rooney Age: 26 Goals: 28 Caps: 73
Danny Wellbeck Age: 21 Goals: 0 Caps: 4
Andy Carroll Age: 23 Goals: 1 Caps: 3
Jermaine Defoe Age: 29 Goals: 15 Caps: 46
Midfield
Steven Gerrard
Oxlade Chamberlain Age: 19 Goals: 0 Caps: 0
Age: 31 Goals: 19 Caps: 90
Ashley Young Age: 26 Goals: 5 Caps: 19
Age: 27 Goals: 0 Caps: 33
Scott Parker Age: 31 Goals: 0 Caps: 11
James Milner Age: 26 Goals: 0 Caps: 24
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Stewart Downing
menandautotrader.com june 2012
Theo Walcott Age: 23 Goals: 3 Caps: 22
Gareth Barry Age: 31 Goals: 3 Caps: 52
Frank Lampard Age: 33 Goals: 23 Caps: 90
Ashley Cole
Age: 31 Goals: 0 Caps: 93
Gary Cahill
John Terry
Age: 26 Goals: 2 Caps: 14
Age: 31 Goals: 6 Caps: 72
Leighton Baines
Phil Jones
Age: 27 Goals: 0 Caps: 7
Football
Defence
Joleon Lescott Age: 30 Goals: 0 Caps: 14
Age: 20 Goals: 0 Caps: 4
Goalkeepers
Joe Hart
Age: 25 Goals: 0 Caps: 17
Robert Green Age: 32 Goals: 0 Caps: 11
John Ruddy Age: 25 Goals: 0 Caps: 0
d n a l g d n E qua S
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