Zola's Track Record, Minnows No More, Essien Out and PLAY MY GAME

3. On Tuesday I was asked by several news outlets whether Gianfranco Zola would make a good manager for West Ham. How the hell am I supposed to know?

There is no body of work there. Nothing to evaluate. Yes, he's a bright guy. Yes, he was a great footballer. Yes, he has the necessary coaching badges. But then what?

Zola has spent the last two years as a "technical consultant" to Italy's Under 21 squad, coached by Gigi Casiraghi. He's effectively the assistant coach, but, because he didn't have the necessary badges, he got that goofy title. Do we know what he actually contributed on the training pitch, that is, do we know where Casiraghi ended and Zola began? No, not really. Was Italy's Under 21 side some kind of all-conquering juggernaut? Nope. They failed to get out of the group stage at the European Under 21 championships and were knocked out by Belgium (!) in the quarterfinals at the Olympic Games.

They did play some nice football. But if you're just judging results, they did worse than the senior team, who at least got to the quarterfinals of Euro 2008 before losing on penalties to Spain, the eventual champions.

Does this mean Zola is going to be a good manager or a bad one? Neither. It doesn't mean anything.
Right now, all we know is that he was impressive in his interview. That he was a great footballer. And is a very likeable man who is also a man of great integrity. But that's it. Beyond that, it's a crap shoot. Which is pretty much what happens when Premier League clubs deem it a good idea to take a guy with no experience and stick him in a plum job, largely because of what he was like as a footballer.

2. Sweden and Poland held by Albania and Slovenia. Portugal scoring just once against Malta in the first hour. Spain beating Bosnia by a single goal. Serbia squeezing past ten-man Faroes at home, 2-0. Austria beating France, 3-1. Italy needing a late winner to get a lucky three points in Cyprus. Plus, Andorra v England, of which, by now, you know all about.

And yet there are still some morons living in La La Land who talk about having some kind of "pre-qualifying" tournament for Europe's so-called minnows.

1. Uh-oh. Chelsea just lost their best player. Michael Essien won't return before the new year. Luiz Felipe Scolari will never admit it of course, but if God appeared to him and said "I shall strike down one of your midfielders for four months" Essien would be the last one he would choose. Better hope that John Obi Mikel gets back to full fitness real soon, otherwise there'll be more of Juliano Belletti trying to do a Claude Makelele impersonation.

Which rather begs the question: how does a team as rich as Chelsea, with oodles of advisors and footballing wise men go into the season with just one holding midfielder on their books (plus Essien who, of course, can play anywhere)?

PLAY MY GAME: We had a great response to this last week and you guys even got a stubborn twit like me to change my mind on Rosicky. So here's the next club: Aston Villa. The question is simple: If Villa's foreign players were eligible for England, which ones would get in the 23 man squad?
Here's my assessment (they don't have may foreigners so this one's easy):
Brad Friedel - This one should carry an asterisk. If the World Cup were tomorrow, I'd take him as a club, but I wouldn't bring him along in qualifying, best to give space to the younger keepers. At the World Cup though, you need the best possible guy to back up David James.
John Carew - He's big, he's mobile and he's technical. Plus, he scored 13 Premier League goals last season, which is more than Emile Heskey, Jermain Defoe, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney (not too mention more than Dean Ashton, Peter Crouch and Gabriel Agbonlahor). Not too shabby. In fact, he may well start.

Comments

It is truly amazing that WHU have disposed of a man who has kept a not so good team in the premiership for many years and has proved his worth. (This was proved when after he left Charlton went straight down) He may not play the most entertaining football, but he is a great tactitian. What truly amazes me is that he has been replaced by a guy who we know nothing about except that he was a great player for Chelsea??? Its a brave move, hwever I suspect they will be playing Championship football next season

[joanna]

Welcome Zola, that rare thing, a humble Italian. Ludicrous appointment though. Platt caused hysteria in Italy when appointed with a similar lack of qualifications but Zola gets the nod here without a murmur, not fair.

[DR]

Gab, I'm intrigued about the 2 coaches you mention. Particularly Marino. Apart from sharing a surname with the 2nd best NFL quarterback of all time, Italian coaches or coaches working in Italy have had a negative, defensive stereotype, which for the most part is not true. What has Marino come up with to enlighten our game?

Outside of Johan Cruyff, Nevio Scala at Parma and Arrigo Sacchi were arguably the 2 most attack minded coaches in Europe in the early 90's. Foggia played some fantasic stuff slightly after that period. Spalletti of Roma now is as innovative as anyone. Even now, if you look at Trap with Eire and Capello with England, they want to get at opponents, albeit from a solid well defined base.

As an Arsenal man, a fit Michael Essien alongside Cesc Fabregas would be the ideal midfield. What I noticed with Fabregas and Flamini last year is that they operated as a tandem. It wasn't a case of Flamini held and Fabregas went. The played close to each other, gave an immediate outlet to whichever was on the ball and pressed as high up the park as possible. Essien is what Flamini was, only a level or two higher. With the energy to play from box-to-box, if both men will work then you dont even need a defensive midfielder.

[victoria]

Was Bilic Nani's first choice then? I thought Zola was or (surprise, surprise) Donadoni, a man who last week said English football had nothing to offer (apart from large pay-cheques presumably).

[Gabriele Marcotti]

1. The idea is to stick with foreign players - at least for me - otherwise we get a bit too bogged down. But feel free to discuss the merits of the English ones too (for what it's worth, I'd have Barry, while I'd keep a close eye on Agbonlahor, Reo-Coker and Young).
2. DR - I'm a big Laursen fan. But my ideal England squad would have four central defenders and, with JT and Rio dead certs, I think I would go with Lescott (because of his versatility) plus Woodgate or King. But admittedly it would be close.
As far as attackign "revolutions" there are a number of coaches who are doing very interesting things outside the limelight. I'll give you two managers who are extremely attack-minded but get little press: Schaaf at Werder Bremen and Marino at Udinese.
3. Kyle - Fine, but Mellberg went to Juventus, not Inter.
4. Victoria - Holding the fact that Nani and Zola are compatriots against Nani is rather silly, no? Especially when we all know Bilic was first choice.
5. Brett - We're obviously on the same page here. I guess Bosingwa could play the position too in a pinch, but the point is this was a major blunder.
6. Damilotun - Actually, you're right about Mikel, he's a natural attacking midfielder (I remember watching him at the Under 20s). That said, he's settled well in the holding midfielder role. It's true what you say, Essien isn't a holding midfielder either.
7, Richard Brown - Generally agree, but remember too that Sir Alex had won European silverware with Aberdeen and thus had a bit more credibility and pedigree than Curbs. Plus, United really were a mess when he took over.

[anthony]

I haven't read one of your articles since your 50 "greatest" players piece you did a year ago.

I'm in total agreement here, i don't imagine it will last long.

[richard brown]

OMG, Zola cannot do it? No offense, but the PL is the lions den. How is Zola better than Curbs. Different, sure, but better? It's about Money. We fool ourselves at the start of each season. Will this team do better with this player, or that manager. BS. Follow the money. List the wealth of each club and you get the PL league standings. Curbs was a success at Charlton for 10+ years, achieving stability, within the limits of their wealth. They lose that stability, they fail. West Ham are NOT a wealthy club, so they need stability. Look at Big Sam and Bolton. Not a wealthy club, but stability kept them afloat. Zola is not the answer. Curbs was not the answer. Absence of wealth, Man.City style, you need stability and and that comes form the maturity/vision of the management team. If Zola can survive the inevitable down-turn in fortunes, and begin to establish a regime, then maybe, over time, he can achieve sustained momentum and success. Sans mucho-dollars, they will not break the Champions League. So, if you are a management team running club, why swap managers after 1.5 seasons? SAF did not come good for 5 seasons. Who gives a Manager 5 seasons these days? I love the impact foreigners have had on the PL, and I love Zola, a heart-and-soul player. I love the drama that he was a Chealski God, I love it all, but for Worst-Ham the answer lies else where. Pick a manager and aim for stability, then you may survive in the PL for years to some. Or, find a wealthy money-guy and do a Chelsea/Man.C and buy success. There is only so much you can do without the players.

[m wilson.]

never heard of him.

[Stuart]

I thought last week you included English players that ought to be in the squad?

In which case I think Barry deserves his place in the squad as a versatile midfield player. I would also have Young in and around the squad if we decide we want to play counter-attacking football and thus want a pacier option down the left than Joey Cole.

Laursen is a better player than Upson, but given that Woodgate and King can both currently walk his inclusion in the last England squad was frankly bemusing.

[Damilotun]

Your selection of Villa players looks about right. Though I must admit that isn't really what prompted me to post a message. Obi Mikel is not a holding midfielder (assuming he was the player you were making reference to - it isn't completely obvious). Back to my point though he isn't just a holding midfielder, his talent is being wasted at Chelsea. If you saw any of his performances for Nigeria - where he is given a much more attacking role (at least when he is not out of the team for his poor discipline) you would agree that he a talented attacking midfielder who is being forced into a defensive role simply because of his imposing physique. I hope he leaves the bridge in the very near future because as a Nigerian I would really hate to see him stagnate any further. Just look what playing out of position as a defensive midfielder did to Alan Smith's career, sure he can do a job there but he is never going to be any better than decent in the position. His attacking instincts though have suffered disproportionately, like limbs that entropy from under-use. I just hope the same doesn't happen to Mikel.

[Ohmy]

Ashley Young should be playing for England. It's baffling to me that he doesn't. 18 Assists and so many goals last season should at least warrant a call-up.

Barry is England standard too.

Nobody else. Not even Fast Gabby.

[Brett Cox]

I have been ranting to my friends and fellow season ticket holders to I'm blue in the face about us having only one genuine holding midfielder in John Obi Mikel.

I can't see why we're favourites. Makelele's loss has been devastating, without replacement.

I would have said, "Roman, pay any money to bring in Mascherano." Such a crucial position.

Unfortunately now, we'll probably be outbid by Man City!

We are oversupplied with 30yo+ creative midfielders, as clever as Deco has been and no matter what season he has with us, I don't think it was clever in that it unbalances the selection and cover for Makelele would have been more important.

Don't get me started on the inability to have a plan b) over the Robinho incident. Where is the width?

[gigi sacco]

I just want to say that I think he will be great for west ham and please remember he got an MBE 2 years ago so i guess Sir Alex is not the only one that deserve to be called SIR

[victoria]

But isn't that why the Icelandics went for Nani, a continental sophisticate to replace the native ignoramuses, a man who'd conduct a worldwide search for talent. And he's come up with........ a compatriot with no experience.
Worth every penny....

[Bob Greenaway]

Bang on the nose as regards Zola.
Down at Woking,we appointed an untried Manager,albeit with the perfect CV as Manager.He guaranteed promotion or resignation in 3 years.
Guess what,he never won a single match in 7 league games before being sacked.

[B Primorac]

Of the non-english contingent, Bouma could get a look in as a viable alternative to Cole (seems better than Shorey, Bridge, more comfortable in that position than Lescott).
Friedel would get a look in certainly.
Petrov could be the solution to the Gerrard/Lampard problem, ehem, maybe not. Oh yes and Carew for Heskey, Laursen for Lescott assuming Bouma's in the squad.
Young, Agbonlahor would be there and there abouts, Young certainly offers better width than Downing.
Randy Lerner in for Brian Barwick.

[Kyle]

Laursen. (And before going off to Inter, Mellberg would have been there, too.)

[DR]

Football has been shaped by tactical revolutions from Herbert Chapman's 1930's Arsenal teams who perfected the counter-attack, through to the long ball game of Wolves in the 50's. Herrera's Catenaccio, Brazil's attacking full backs and Rinus Michels' Total Football.

We now see, teams being ultra defensive in midfield choking off 'Zone 14', ie the 20 yard central zone just outside the D where most killer passes are deemed to come from and allied to greater fitness levels and the export of organised coaching, even the likes of Andorra can frustrate a team like England for a half.

Gab, can you see an attacking revolution of some sort being hatched in somewhere like Holland or Argentina where massed defences are broken down with greater regularity? Maybe, the coaching of the individual and a greater emphasis on dribblers to collapse defences may be seized upon.

I think West Ham would have been better off pursuing Michael Laudrup than Zola. But in the Premier League, glamour counts for too much. Zola's class as a player and as a man make him appear a perfect fit, but England never really got to see how good a player Michael Laudrup was and his record at Getafe was admirable. He also would have brought John Jensen with him who has good experience of the English game.

Martin Laursen is easily good enough to at least make England's bench. I'd have a fit Bouma ahead of Wayne Bridge as back up at left back.

[martin westley]

villa is to hard to do.

petrov, larsen, freidel and carew are just about the only non english in the squad.

but or though young, agbonlahor and reo coker are all english they would be in my squad ahead of downing, heskey and jenas