Do English teams take the Europa League seriously?

English sides Manchester City and Liverpool both head into the second legs of their Europa League ties with deficit’s from the first legs.

Liverpool host Portuguese side Sporting Braga at Anfield tonight after losing 1-0 in the first leg.

Manchester City suffered a 2-0 defeat at Dynamo Kiev in their first leg.

City are in a rather worse position than the Reds but you have got to ask yourself do these clubs take the Europa League seriously?

Rotation

Throughout their Europa League campaigns Liverpool and City have used a rotation policy. Now many people will say that clubs of their stature should have enough strength in-depth to cope with rotating the first eleven. That has been true up until this stage of the competition.

The likes of Dynamo Kiev and Sporting Braga are no mugs. In fact Kiev have European experience of playing in the Champions League and Sporting Braga dropped out of the group stages of the same competition this season. However it seems that the English clubs have underestimated their opponents.

Recovery

Liverpool will have the easier of the tasks going into the second leg just one down but it will still be tough for the Reds. An away goal by Braga would make it very difficult for Kenny Dalglish’s men to recover. Manchester City have to overcome a two goal losing margin.

Their clash will definately prove the tougher. City have the firepower to overcome the Ukrainians if Roberto Mancini decides to use it. A positive for the Citizens is the fact that Kiev have a terrible record on English soil, they have failed to win in nine attempts in England.

Manchester City also have a very strong home record in the Europa League having won the last three games and scored three goals on each of those occasions. A full strength Manchester City should have enough to progress into the quarter-finals but the big question is how strong a team will Roberto Mancini pick?

If he does indeed have hopes of winning the trophy outright then he will go with his strongest line-up but if he sees it as a distraction from the Premier League then he could field a weakened side. I would say Liverpool will probably field a strong side against Braga with there being a chance of progressing into the quarter-finals.

Champions League

Everybody knows that the Europa League isn’t the Champions League but its a competition still well worth winning. Manchester City particular seem to be concentrating all their efforts on making the Champions League spots this season and their progression in other competitions could suffer.

Liverpool are still in with a very slim chance of a Champions League spot but I think for now the fans will have to be happy with taking part in UEFA’s second competition. The fans may not like that they are not currently in Europe’s elite competition but that’s the situation they currently find themselves in.

Trophy

The Europa League may not be the most glamorous competition in the world but there is still a trophy to play for. Neither Liverpool or Manchester City can afford to turn their noses up at the opportunity of winning a trophy. City are still in the FA Cup but they face bitter-rivals Manchester United in the semi-finals.

The Europa League is Liverpool’s only opportunity to win silverware this season and at this point in time I don’t think Liverpool fans would turn down a trip to the final in Dublin come May.

Serious

To me it’s strange that English teams put out weakened sides in the last 16 of any competition. For me both Liverpool and Manchester City should take these ties seriously. If they don’t then they don’t deserve to be in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Are Manchester City and Liverpool taking the Europa League Seriously?

Thu 17 March, 2011

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Do English teams take the Europa League seriously?

English sides Manchester City and Liverpool both head into the second legs of their Europa League ties with deficit’s from the first legs.

Liverpool host Portuguese side Sporting Braga at Anfield tonight after losing 1-0 in the first leg.

Manchester City suffered a 2-0 defeat at Dynamo Kiev in their first leg.

City are in a rather worse position than the Reds but you have got to ask yourself do these clubs take the Europa League seriously?

Rotation

Throughout their Europa League campaigns Liverpool and City have used a rotation policy. Now many people will say that clubs of their stature should have enough strength in-depth to cope with rotating the first eleven. That has been true up until this stage of the competition.

The likes of Dynamo Kiev and Sporting Braga are no mugs. In fact Kiev have European experience of playing in the Champions League and Sporting Braga dropped out of the group stages of the same competition this season. However it seems that the English clubs have underestimated their opponents.

Recovery

Liverpool will have the easier of the tasks going into the second leg just one down but it will still be tough for the Reds. An away goal by Braga would make it very difficult for Kenny Dalglish’s men to recover. Manchester City have to overcome a two goal losing margin.

Their clash will definately prove the tougher. City have the firepower to overcome the Ukrainians if Roberto Mancini decides to use it. A positive for the Citizens is the fact that Kiev have a terrible record on English soil, they have failed to win in nine attempts in England.

Manchester City also have a very strong home record in the Europa League having won the last three games and scored three goals on each of those occasions. A full strength Manchester City should have enough to progress into the quarter-finals but the big question is how strong a team will Roberto Mancini pick?

If he does indeed have hopes of winning the trophy outright then he will go with his strongest line-up but if he sees it as a distraction from the Premier League then he could field a weakened side. I would say Liverpool will probably field a strong side against Braga with there being a chance of progressing into the quarter-finals.

Champions League

Everybody knows that the Europa League isn’t the Champions League but its a competition still well worth winning. Manchester City particular seem to be concentrating all their efforts on making the Champions League spots this season and their progression in other competitions could suffer.

Liverpool are still in with a very slim chance of a Champions League spot but I think for now the fans will have to be happy with taking part in UEFA’s second competition. The fans may not like that they are not currently in Europe’s elite competition but that’s the situation they currently find themselves in.

Trophy

The Europa League may not be the most glamorous competition in the world but there is still a trophy to play for. Neither Liverpool or Manchester City can afford to turn their noses up at the opportunity of winning a trophy. City are still in the FA Cup but they face bitter-rivals Manchester United in the semi-finals.

The Europa League is Liverpool’s only opportunity to win silverware this season and at this point in time I don’t think Liverpool fans would turn down a trip to the final in Dublin come May.

Serious

To me it’s strange that English teams put out weakened sides in the last 16 of any competition. For me both Liverpool and Manchester City should take these ties seriously. If they don’t then they don’t deserve to be in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Are Manchester City and Liverpool taking the Europa League Seriously?

Thu 17 March, 2011

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Arsenal has no Plan B against hungrier teams

By Shourin Roy on September 26, 2010 6:08 AM | 1 Comment | TrackBacksShare|

Wenger sees the afternoon crumble against West Brom

The plan was clear. To maximize points in the easier stretch of games before the big showdown with Chelsea. The West Brom match was a clear opportunity to win three points. An golden opportunity for the Gunners to vault to the top of the table following Chelsea's loss against Man City.

What we have in two games against so called lesser opposition has been quite similar - the loss against West Brom yesterday was a continuation of what happened against Sunderland.

The Black Cats can argue that they were distinctly unlucky not to get a win. They looked the better team for most of their match. West Brom put that to rest. They were the better team. Arsenal only showed up in the last 15 minutes of the match to extricate themselves out of a three goal deficit. Samir Nasri's goals were a wonderful vanity showcase but the Baggies successfully threw all 11 men to close down shop. Roberto Di Matteo's tactics won out. His men outplayed Wenger and the Gunners.

In these two matches, the Gunners have revealed a familiar lack of effort and intensity against sides that have looked far hungrier and more focused. We have too many error prone coasters on our team. Perfectly illustrated by the second goal gifted to West Brom by Song and Arshavin trying to finesse their way out of trouble and Almunia's slack reflexes.

Almunia is an easy target. The Spaniard showed a familiar return to indecisiveness but he had good company in Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy who bought themselves tickets to a perpetual daydream. Sagna was mush against Jerome Thomas and Peter Odemwingie in the first two goals. And Clichy failed to apply himself against Chris Brunt for the third. The trio had their way against Arsenal.

Tactically too there were a number of shortcomings. Arsenal is a painful team to watch when their normal fluid passing stalls. The Baggies threw them off rhythm with their high pressurizing tactics and the Gunners lacked a counterattacking game to make a quick breakthrough (Walcott could have made a difference). With no plan B it was an increasingly confident West Brom that dictated terms.

Much has been said of Wenger's refusal to get a quality goalkeeper. When does stubbornness become stupidity? In games like this. The one thing that Man Utd and Chelsea have going for them is the utmost confidence in their custodians. Jonny Evans has been an absolute disaster but he breathes easier knowing that Van Der Sar is perfectly capable of cleaning up a mess. We really do not have the luxury of ball watching with Almunia in goal.

Wojech Szczesny might not be the immediate answer but at this stage Wenger is running out of options. One way of expediting Szczesny's exposure will be to draft him for the Braga return. With a half dozen goals as buffer there is some leeway. If he inspires confidence we could see him stake a claim to the goalkeeping job ahead of schedule.

The one constant in this season is inconsistency. We walkover Braga imperiously, flick aside Spurs, but we stumble in matches which could prove pivotal in a very tight season. We are unable to forge ahead on a pattern of familiar mistakes repeated season in and season out. On what grounds does Wenger claim that his boys have turned to men? So far I have yet to see a magic switch that will make this season any different. Next weekend it's the ruthlessly opportunistic Drogba and Chelsea and on the evidence so far, we are on track for our customary humiliation.

One more point. Former players seem to have made a habit punishing Arsenal. David Bentley, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Jerome Thomas have all come up with big goals. Maybe Hleb is licking his lips too?

Update: I know, I know - Arsenal has no dearth of goalkeepers just good ones. And there is Vito Mannone ahead of Szczesny. But Wenger seems to be playing it two ways here. He can thrown in Fabianski to "improve his confidence" but at the same time he wants to protect Szczesny. So the Pole is going to warm the bench without any chance of playing matches and magically watch his talent grow? He is not out on loan and he is not even in Carling Cup consideration. Yet, the conventional wisdom is that he will be ready in a couple of years to take over the first spot. How is that possible?

Categories: English Premier League 2011, Gossip/Trash Talk, Soccer Business, Soccer Coaches & Coaching, Soccer Culture, Soccer History, Soccer Players, Soccer Skills, Soccer Teams - Club Tags: Arsenal, English Premier League 2010-11, Jerome Thomas, West Bromwich Albion No TrackBacks

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1 Comment Sportsboxdotcom | September 28, 2010 3:41 AM | Reply

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