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Manchester City are right to spend big on forward thinking

 

Tony Cascarino

I’m amazed by the number of strikers Manchester City have signed but it’s a vital part of their transition from mid-table outfit to serious players. Big clubs need big squads and when money’s no object you go out and get the best available players, simple as that.

No doubt some said before the 1998-99 season that Manchester United didn’t really need a quadruple strikeforce of Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but all played key roles in a massively successful campaign.

With the options Mark Hughes now has up front, he doesn’t have to worry about how he would cope in an injury crisis and he has the versatility to make a wide range of tactical changes. I’d argue that with the incredible array of attacking talent Hughes has at his disposal, he’s got more variety of a higher quality than any other club manager.

Ferguson prepares to put his faith in youth once again

When Sir Alex Ferguson says that Real Madrid are “not nearly as afraid as debt as everyone else in the world,” is he saying that Manchester United are terrified of their status as the world’s most indebted club?

Those close to him suggest not, saying that the debts incurred by the Glazer family takeover in 2005 do not begin to impact on Ferguson’s day-to-day operations or his long-term transfer policy. The debts of Red Football Joint Venture Ltd, United’s parent company, rose to £649.4 million in the financial year ending July 31 2008, but both Ferguson, David Gill and the Glazers – communicating only through a spokesman – maintain that they are entirely comfortable with their position. The talk is always of “soft borrowings” and “no real pressure” from the banks.

So what is driving the air of prudence or parsimony that has swept through Old Trafford since the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a world-record fee of £80 million? It would take an almighty leap of faith to believe that the debts are not one factor – last year’s record profits of £71.8 million were almost entirely wiped out by interest payments amounting to £68.8 million – but it is not the only one.

To put it bluntly, Ferguson believes there is no point paying out vast sums of money for players who (a) would not significantly improve United’s squad and (b) would hamper the progress of some of the outstanding youngsters already at the club. There is a strong argument for saying that he did just that with the £30.75 million club-record purchase of Dimitar Berbatov last summer, but, having baulked at the £35 million fee demanded by Lyons for Karim Benzema – a decision that was admittedly made easier by the striker’s desire to follow Ronaldo to Madrid – Ferguson chose instead to sign Michael Owen on a free transfer, leaving that £80 million burning a hole in his pocket.

Newcastle need the right buyer, not a quick sale

George Caulkin

It needs to end and it needs to end soon; each day that elapses with Newcastle United still unsold, still without a manager, with nobody in place to take footballing decisions, with new players not bought and the old ones fuming and festering, an opportunity is lost. The smell of decay is pervasive and yet, and yet ... In the long-term, some good may come of this, utterly counter-intuitive though it may feel at present. Here's why.

Each day that elapses, another question is posed, questions that Mike Ashley could not bring himself to ask when he bought the club without undertaking due diligence in 2007. Arguably, Newcastle is still creaking from that failing, one that obliged Ashley to immediately repay the loan taken out for regenerating St James’ Park. The next lot - whoever they may be - have not made the same mistake.

Each day that elapses, Newcastle’s books are pored over - with "the finest of fine tooth combs," it has been put to me. Does that automatically mean that Ashley's successor or successors will be an improvement (it stretches credibility to imagine how they could possibly be worse)? No, of course not. What it means is that, unlike the sportswear retailer, they will be better prepared.

Mowbray will struggle to sign big names at Celtic

Graham Spiers

At this time of the football season - back from holidays, sun-tanned, having not looked at or kicked a ball for five weeks - you might expect a freshness about the faces of most players and managers. But not in Scotland. And certainly not on the otherwise highly expressive face of Tony Mowbray.

The Celtic manager, even this early into his exciting new career, is feeling something of the slog about his job. Mowbray, in truth, is dragging his heels in having to go to Australia with Celtic for what he views as a mind-numbing pre-season challenge against Brisbane Roar on July 12, but even more draining is Mowbray's current effort to rejuvenate Celtic by making a batch of uplifting and inspiring new signings.

Marc-Antoine Fortune is expected in most circles to sign for Celtic, though with two or three Barclays Premier League clubs also chasing him, the French striker has clearly been in two minds about coming to Glasgow. The very saga that signing Fortune has become has only underlined the severity of the job facing Mowbray.

Platini hasn't a hope of imposing salary cap on clubs

 

Tony Cascarino

Michael Platini’s attempt to introduce a salary cap for clubs in European competitions will fall flat on its face. It’ll be hard enough to persuade clubs to accept it – and if by some miracle it’s agreed, it will be ineffective.

I know well enough from my playing days that clubs will always find a loophole, always spend more than they should, because common sense is always blinded by an irresistible desire to win, to get the best players possible at almost any cost. In an ultra-competitive marketplace at the elite level, with clubs chasing a handful of top-class players, they will do whatever it takes, pay whatever is necessary, to get an edge over their rivals. Just as Real Madrid are doing now.

Think back to the Seventies, for example, when clubs came up with all kinds of imaginative bonus schemes to supplement wages. Houses, cars, all sorts of incentives were offered. It won’t matter if Uefa bring in a rule limiting expenditure and salaries to a percentage of turnover - clubs’ accountants and lawyers will find a loophole somewhere and players will continue to enjoy vast and ever-rising salaries.

Uefa are playing a dangerous game here with their attempts to dictate what clubs can and can’t spend. They’re leaving themselves open to legal challenges – why, Manchester United might could argue, should Platini tell us how to run our business? The timing seems wrong, anyway – with television income still vast and interest in the game as massive as ever, the message that they must tighten their belts and curb their spending isn’t going to cut much ice with clubs enjoying rising revenues, no matter how sensible it may seem in theory.

Forget limbo, Newcastle United are in decay

George Caulkin

Two little things. Two episodes which, in the context of relegation, a club up for sale, with no manager and no new players, have escaped much notice and yet which illustrate vividly the corrosive nature of recent events at Newcastle United. Two little things which demonstrate how Mike Ashley's inadequacy ' the polite term - has rippled out into a city, a region and beyond.

This Wednesday will herald a psychological moment at St James' Park or, more precisely, Newcastle's training ground, where players will reconvene for pre-season training. The same highly-paid failures (with a few exceptions), who were incapable of living up to their own inflated reputations will return to the scene of their humiliation. None have been sold, none bought.

They will encounter not Alan Shearer, but Chris Hughton, the first-team coach. Many will know (or certainly hope) that, come August, they will have been bought by or loaned to some other mugs and yet still they must go through the motions of pulling on an adidas training top and showing a commitment they cannot possibly feel. This will be the public face, the public farce, of Ashley's Newcastle.

Four ways to stop Spain

 

Gabriele Marcotti

1. Clog the middle, concede the flanks

Spain’s intricate passing can befuddle any opponent, but the short-passing style of Xavi and co. is most effective through the centre of the pitch. That’s why it makes sense to tuck your full backs inside and defend more narrowly. This will make it far more difficult for Spain to work their way through into your area. 

The flipside of this, of course, is that you will concede space on the wings. That’s fine. You should be able to handle their crosses. Spain do not pose much of an aerial threat, except possibly on set-pieces when guys like Gerard Pique or Sergio Ramos advance. The real danger from wide areas come from the cut-backs which find runners from midfield. That’s why it’s essential to have bodies in the middle ready to pick up any late runs into the box.

2. Defend deep and resist the temptation to press

There are various schools of thought regarding pressing but it’s generally accepted that it’s not a good idea to do it against very technical opponents. And the fact of the matter is that Spain may well be the most technical side in the world, with the guile and passing ability to break any press you throw their way.

Instead, it’s better to defend deep, denying Fernando Torres and David Villa the space behind your defenders. This will help you deal with their pace and it will also make Spain less effective on the counter-attack.

3 Take the full backs out of the game, make the central defenders work instead

Sergio Ramos and Joan Capdevila are outstanding going forward and are often Iker Casillas’ first option.  They are tough to handle because they are equally adept at running at opponents as they are at picking out teammates with a pass. 

Therefore, encourage your strikers to pick up the fullbacks at goal-kicks and restarts. This will force Spain to involve the central defenders (Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique or possibly Marchena or Albiol) who are simply not as technically accomplished. It will also naturally drive them towards the centre of the pitch, which you will presciently have clogged (see 1).

4. Be lucky

I appreciate that this one will likely be out of your control but it’s a huge part of the game. The fact of the matter is that Spain are so gifted that they can create chances against anyone, even when they’re being out-fought and out-thought.  We saw it against the US, when they continued to generate dozens of goalscoring opportunities.

You just have to accept that sometimes your best laid plans can be shattered by a moment of individual genius.

The Tehran Four, Owen's shocker and Cesc's lose-lose proposition

Gabriele Marcotti

Unless you've been hiding under a rock (or only read the back of the paper) you're probably aware of what's going on in Iran and the turmoil following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election.

According to reports in a pro-government newspaper, four Iranian players have been told they will never again represent their country after they wore green armbands - a symbol of support for Ahmadinejad's rival, the pro-reform Mir Hossein Mousavi - during their match against South Korea last week. The group includes some of the country's most high profile stars, including Ali Karimi, a former Asian Footballer of the Year, and Mehdi Mahdavikia, the veteran wingback who has been one of the most consistent performers in the Bundesliga for over a decade.

Fifa rules ban the display of political symbols or messages during games (as Robbie Fowler found out a decade ago), but clearly this is a gross over-reaction from Iranian authorities. Far more worrying however is the fact that, according to reports, the men have had their passports taken away and, for now at least, can't leave the country.

Politics and sport should not, on principle, mix. But, when they do - and, inevitably, it occasionally happens, since sport does not exist in a vacuum - you can only admire young men who have the courage to take a stand and face the consequences.

Newcastle United: the stage play

George Caulkin

A surfeit of drama has been associated with Newcastle United over recent months, but you would struggle to describe much of it as great. There has been stupid, mortifying, toe-curling drama in spades; drama that gnaws at the heart and corrodes the soul, plotlines so ridiculous that credibility evaporates. Sound, fury, aching pessimism and ham acting.

Mike Ashley should have left it to the professionals, which is where the Live Theatre comes in. Beginning this Thursday, the curtain is lifted on a play which, in its run earlier this year, did more to contextualise and humanise the decline at St James’ Park than countless column inches, radio phone-ins or television obituaries. It did so with wit, ferocity and, most important of all, unbridled affection.

David Bentley is a real bargain at £7million

Gabriele Marcotti

At what point do you cut your losses? If Tottenham really plan on selling David Bentley to Aston Villa for £7million as widely reported, it will represent a loss of around £9m in just twelve months. OK, so establishing the “right price” to pay for somebody is an extremely tricky art form.  And, yes, it’s obvious Spurs overpaid horribly. But £7m? For a guy who is twenty-four years old and has seven England caps to his name (several of those under Fabio Capello)? A guy who, in two seasons at Blackburn, missed just three league games and who is generally pretty durable and injury-free? In this market, that’s an absolute steal.  No matter how poor Bentley was this season, that is a knockdown price for one of the more gifted English attacking midfielders around. Kudos to Martin O’Neill if he can make it happen.