The Soccer Blog: Boxing

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Sunday, 26 December 2010

A win on Boxing Day (vs Sunderland)

By: Shaun | December 26th, 2010
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berbatov_306 With our much-anticipated clash against Chelsea being called off due to inclement weather, fans and players alike must have been itching to see league play resume on Boxing Day. That eagerness and (seemingly) pent up energy were fully unleashed and on display within the first 20 minutes of the game.

United came out with a spring in their step while Sunderland attacked by playing high up the pitch and closing down our players anytime they got the ball. This led to a rather frantic opening few minutes for United which is rare whenever playing at home. We eventually did settle down and our nerves were calmed no doubt by an early goal from our Bulgarian maestro. Giggs made a deep run from midfield and completely ignored/missed Berba streaking into the space down his left. Instead, he picked out Rooney on the right who had noticed Berba in acres of space inside the box. A delicate chip found the 5 goal hero and he nodded in at the far post with Gordon’s attempt insufficient to keep the ball out. Barely 5 minutes had passed on the clock and he was already reminding us of what we had missed in the game against Arsenal.

giggssunderland It is common sense that most player benefit from rest days even if it is due to the postponement of games. It is however, the golden oldies who stand to gain the most with their bodies no longer able to recuperate at the same pace of their younger comrades. Giggs for one looked like he was 10 years younger today making runs into space and taking on defenders at will. He was once again involved in the 9th minute with a move that ended with Rooney attempting to chip the keeper from just outside the box. It was a glimpse of his footballing mind and skill to have even conjured up the attempt and it was agonizing to see it go inches wide off the left post. The man is truly coming back into form and the league has every reason to be fearful.

Berba and Ando who have both been culpable this season of finishing poorly when placed in good goal scoring positions were denied goals within minutes of each other as one hit the inside post while the other cracked the cross bar. We could and probably should have put the game beyond Sunderland’s reach by the 20 minute mark. Berba for one could easy have had a hattrick by that point in the game. However, that wasn’t to be with Gordon in fine form and doing his very best to keep his side in the contest.

In reality however, Sunderland struggled to get going in the final third and VDS barely had anything to do aside from clearing the ball anytime it got passed back to him. Even then, it was rarely under any form of duress from Bent or Gyan. For all the hype surrounding Henderson and our potential interest in him, he cut a relatively quiet figure throughout and failed to assert himself.

One thing worth noting is that Sunderland never attempted to just sit deep and defend. They came out looking to take the game unlike many teams that come into OT. Of course, we are at our sparkling best when teams come at us because of the space it affords us when we do get the ball back. A majority of our forgettable performances this season have been against teams intent on escaping with a point. It is those moments that remind us how much we still rely on the creativity and genius of Scholes and how pressing our need is to replace him sooner rather than later.

In Park’s final game with us for a while, he was allocated a spot out on the right wing. Unlike Nani, his contribution from that position didn’t come in the form of whipped crosses into the middle. Instead, he did what he always does best – link up play and ensure continuity in our movement of the ball. His Energizer Bunny like engine allows him to be the perfect teammate as he drops into space and makes himself available for a pass so that the team is able to retain possession and not just knock it aimlessly back to the other team when under pressure. The intangibles are his greatest contribution and while he isn’t as celebrated as most of our starting 11, the system in which we play will miss him for the month he is away.

berbarooneysunderland The second half started out in a similar fashion to the first one with Sunderland harrying our players at every opportunity. Just as with the first half, we did eventually settle down and yet again, found a goal to further calm our nerves. Berba’s strike from the right side of the box took a wicked deflection off the younger Ferdinand brother and wrong-footed Gordon completely. It was down to luck much more than it was to skill although in fairness, Berba did look like he was trying to curve it into the far post with the outside of his boot.

2-0 up against a Sunderland side that had yet to really threaten seemed like a very safe position to be in. Our Christmas-like generosity at the back that marked our play early on in the season seems like such a distant memory now. SAF must have felt the same way as he brought on Gibson and Macheda for Giggs and Anderson.
The remainder of the game was relatively uneventful with Sunderland finally testing VDS. Zenden had a go from outside the box and Bent had an acrobatic attempt fly way over. Aside from that, Vidic and Rio were once again brilliant in protecting the Dutchman and his goal. We understandably dropped our level of intensity and allowed some sloppiness to creep in toward the end. The substitutions, while necessary to maintain freshness, also ensured that we didn’t create anything truly threatening in the final 15 minutes.

In a nice moment, Berba and SAF managed to share a good little chat and chuckle together on the bench after he was substituted. It was a refreshing change from the ever-increasing player petulance that has been on display when seemingly “big name” players get taken off.

Top of the table, 5 points ahead of Arsenal and 6 points ahead of Chelsea with all 3 teams having played 17 games. Given our awful start to the season and the naysayers who were sharpening their knives then, this is a pretty good spot that we find ourselves in.

Some Related Man United Posts:Another 2 points dropped (v Sunderland)The Berba Show pt 2 (feat Blackburn)Top of the group (vs Valencia)Perfect ending to a tumultuous week (vs Stoke)Still undefeated (vs Arsenal)

Category: Berbatov, English Premier League, Manchester United, Match Reports, Old Trafford, Park Ji-Sung, Wayne Rooney

Tags: Berbatov, Dimitar Berbatov, English Premier League, Manchester United, Match Reports, Old Trafford, Park Ji-Sung, Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney
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Friday, 24 December 2010

Weather hits Boxing Day games

Sunday’s Scottish Premier League fixture between Kilmarnock and Hearts has been postponed after an inspection at Rugby Park on Friday.

The inspection found frozen pipes in three of the four stands at Kilmarnock’s home ground, as well as a fault in the ground’s under-soil heating caused by the severe winter battering Western Europe.

The SPL issued a short statement on Friday confirming the postponement but stopped short of announcing a new date for the match.

The clash between Dundee United and Hamilton Accies is also in doubt, with a final inspection of Tannadice to be made on Sunday morning.

Severe weather has also forced the postponement of two Championship fixtures on Boxing Day.

Scunthorpe United versus Preston North End and Middlesbrough against Nottingham Forest will both be played at a later date due to frozen pitches.

Fri 24 December, 2010

Comment on Weather hits Boxing Day games by mike

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Weather hits Boxing Day games

Sunday’s Scottish Premier League fixture between Kilmarnock and Hearts has been postponed after an inspection at Rugby Park on Friday.

The SPL issued a short statement on Friday confirming the postponement but stopped short of announcing a new date for the match.

The clash between Dundee United and Hamilton Accies is also in doubt, with a final inspection of Tannadice to be made on Sunday morning.

Severe weather has also forced the postponement of two Championship fixtures on Boxing Day.

Scunthorpe United versus Preston North End and Middlesbrough against Nottingham Forest will both be played at a later date due to frozen pitches.

Fri 24 December, 2010

Thursday, 23 December 2010

How Spurs can win the fight on Boxing Day.

By: Elmesy | December 23rd, 2010

The Sky cameras will be following Spurs down the M40, to the Midlands to cover their game against Aston Villa on Boxing Day. Sky are certainly buying into the consensus that Spurs are a good team to watch. This will be the 13th time that Spurs have appeared on their cameras this season already. Will it prove an unlucky 13 for Tottenham?.

Last season Spurs and Villa were fighting it out with Man City for that elusive fourth premier league place. This season Spurs are in the knockout stages of the champions league and fifth in the table, while Villa are 10 places and seven points worse off. Villa have found themselves being overtaken by Spurs in recent seasons, their current interest in signing Robbie Keane and David Bentley (mere squad players at Spurs) only stands to accentuate that fact.

Since the departure of Martin O Neill in very unceremonious circumstances, Villa have been unable to find any sort of form and have started to leak goals at an alarming rate. They have conceded an average of 2 goals per game over the past 8 matches. Spurs with all their attacking intent can capitalise on this, if they get at Villa early on in the game.

I expect Houllier to have written a rousing speech in his programme notes, probably something along the lines of “I have never liked Spurs ….honest!” after his comments at the recent Liverpool game. It’s a shame he never Managed Spurs before, or I could have just written a 3-0 Spurs win at the top of this article, and posted it !.

Houllier needs to get the Villa crowd behind the team and will be looking for them to drive his players forward and provide them with some much needed confidence. Spurs have to combat this by starting the game on the front foot. The problem for Spurs is that starting a game strongly has not been their forte this season. Wolves, Arsenal, Liverpool and of course Villa, are all teams that Spurs have had to come from behind to claim all three points against. If they go a goal behind to Villa at their place, it will be just what they need and Spurs could end up with a repeat of the recent Bolton game, where they lost 4-2.

Spurs will need to get Modric on the ball early and frustrate Villa, so that the crowd cannot play the important part that Houllier will be hoping for. Spurs will look to utilise Bale and Lennon as much as possible, as they have done to great success this season, Villa also posses dangerous wide players in Downing and Albrighton. I would expect to see both teams keeping a fairly wide formation which will ultimately create space in the center of the pitch. It is from here that Spurs could win the game.

Villa have tall and fairly slow centre backs in Dunne, Cueller and Collins, who would prefer to play against similar sized and equally as mobile centre forwards. I would like to see Harry stick with the Defoe and Pavlychenko partnership up front for this game, rather than deploy Peter Crouch. Defoe and Pavlychenko are far more mobile and will look to make runs in behind the Villa defence which is exactly the way to get at their rather dubious back line. This is where Luka Modric will come in. He is on top form this season and he will have a lot of time and space against Villa. He will be up against a fairly ordinary Villa Midfield who will struggle to cope with a player who has dominated far better opposition on numerous occasions this season. Both teams will play wide formations leaving more space for Modric to operate, plus he will have willing runners up front, either side of the centre backs to whom he can pick his passes.

Form can count for very little in Football but confidence is something that can win you matches. Spurs have confidence in abundance at the moment and Villa can only dream of having the self belief of the Spurs players. This game could pivot on an early goal, for either side.

If Spurs score first in this game, then I can see them going on to collect all three points. If they start poorly and give Villa an early advantage then it could be a difficult fight back from the canvas on Boxing Day.

Some Related Spurs Posts:Palacios Could Make Spurs’ Season Something To Crow AboutSpurs End 17 Year Run To Beat Arsenal At The EmiratesHarry Needs To Toughen Up To Save Spurs’ SeasonDefoe Back In November. Nurofen For Mr Redknapp!Bolton Vs Spurs At The Reebok. Back To Earth With A Bang?

Category: Harry Redknapp, Premier League, Team News

Tags: Harry Redknapp, Premier League, Team News
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