Mails: Man United fans turning into Liverpool ones

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

Told you so
On the 5th January I wrote in to respond to an overconfident Liverpool fan (Mike LFC Dubai) who was getting a little carried away __with their current form, and I made the point that it is more likely Spurs would catch Liverpool from 2 points behind than Liverpool catching Chelsea, following Tottenham beating Chelsea 2-0.

At the time I felt this was a fair point to make, on the back of Spurs beating a team on a 13 game winning streak, but it brought a hail of criticism from ‘triggered’ Pool fans who were absolutely apoplectic __with rage that someone who supports a club that hasn’t won a billion trophies dared to criticise them. And what was this ‘criticism’? “Let’s see where we are in May”. Wow, that is brutal isn’t it.

Anyway, I pointed out that a cramped January without their two best players could have a negative impact on their season…again, a fairly asinine point to make, and it has come to pass. Liverpool have crept past Plymouth at the second time of asking, lost home and away to Southampton in the League Cup and been beaten at home by Swansea, who have had an absolutely torrid season. All of a sudden the proud manor of Anfield in December has become a crumbling sandcastle, in the space of just four weeks.

Now, I know it isn’t May yet but this really does just echo what I was warning about…disaster is always just around the corner, and it would be wise to just concentrate on your own results in future rather than crowing about other teams giving you a chance to do something.

Good luck for the visit of Wolves. You’re going to need it…and no need to apologise.
Ross THFC

United fans turning into Liverpool ones
They really are turning into Liverpool fans, aren’t they? Such fun!

The Man U fans in this morning’s mailbox. Well they’re a calm and even-handed bunch, aren’t they? Refereeing is broken, something must be done! Well, it might be broken. It might not be. I don’t have any real sample size to back it up, nor any comparison with historical refereeing performances, but that shady penalty is proof enough that England’s referees are failing the nation. I mean, it could be that we are now in a world in which every angle is immediately available in super slow-mo, or that sports journalism is now little more than loud voices and pointing fingers, wherein the easiest position to take is that the referee f**ked it. But no, it’s because they are just really bad at refereeing these days. That must be it. A profession-wide diminishing of skills.

OR IS IT?! Because Lynton is through the looking-glass, dropping truth-bombs and blowing minds. The FA are out to get Mourinho! The stats prove it! Wake up sheeple! All those unsuccessful penalty claims; what the f**k is that about? Don’t these people know the natural order? Don’t they understand that when a walking Maris Piper says he wants a penalty, he gets a f**king penalty? Other clubs are getting penalties, which only goes to prove the FA’s conspiracy. Oh we are going deep now. And those offside goals in Man U’s favour, well it doesn’t mean anything, does it? You know, they were pretty difficult decisions so a bit of latitude is expected. So it’s all fair, right? Evens itself out over the course of a season, doesn’t it?

WELL THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO BELIEVE! This goes to the very top, and I’m not talking about Wazza’s thatch (which only goes somewhat near the top, but without ever really convincing anyone; it’s the Corbyn of counterfeit coiffures). Those ABUs have infiltrated every level of society. This insidious rot cannot be tolerated. An overhaul is needed of everything in football. The world is broken. Have you seen the league table? Have you bloody seen it? Manchester United are not at the top of it, and therefore the world is inherently wrong and everyone is cheating. Referees are the worst and the FA is persecuting the manager. How else can you explain Man U being s**t again? Thankfully we have a hero in Jose, a man with the strength to stand against the lies and fake news? Man U lost? Did they? Did they really? No. It was a draw. Don’t believe the lies. Man U are in 5th? No. First. Always first. Man U number one. The global dream-team, in partnership with North Korea (best Korea), Donald Trump (see Wayne? That’s how you fucking do it. Get a ginger tabby and a staple gun), and the effervescent charm of Sol Campbell. Any statements  to the contrary are just lies. Only stupid people believe lies.  You’re not stupid, are you?
thayden

Bring on the holo-refs
The debate about the standard of refereeing is one of those things that really bugs me.  It’s boring and repetitive.

Refs and linemen have a ridiculously hard job under massive pressure but still manage to get most things right most of the time. They’ll get stuff wrong (in the viewers eyes) sometimes because a) they’re human and b) the laws of the game are open to interpretation.  Asking them simply to get better is bonkers, they are already – believe it or not – the most well equipped and trained set of referee’s we’ve ever had.

Which leads us nicely to the next and most annoying point.  You can give the officials all the microphones, earpieces, shaving foam and training you want but if we really wanted consistent and predictable refereeing the answer is there and being studiously and deliberately ignored.

Give the team that built hawkeye or another bunch with similar skills time to work on a refereeing system and they’d easily be able to give you something that tells, you in seconds, info such as:

Which player touched the ball first
If contact was made
If an offence occurred in the box
If the balls gone out of play
If a handball occurred

etc.

Yes there would be changes needed to incorporate it into the match and yes it would probably be a bit of trial and error to make it ‘feel’ right but let’s not pretend the solution isn’t available or fill up precious mailbox space hand wringing about ‘what are we to do.’  The technology exist and it’s not even particularly cutting edge anymore.

As for Man U fans moaning about ref’s – really? Really?

And Lynton… “Now that is scientific fact—there’s no real evidence for it—but it is scientific fact”
Matt AFC (Quoting Brass Eye makes me feel old)

 

On bad referees and more
I rarely write in but when I do you can bet it’s because something somebody has said has either tickled my funny bits or wound me up to the point that my fingers can’t help themselves.

Strangely, there were three such mails that caused a mixture of these emotions today. Namely ‘DJ & Paul Murphy – Man Utd fans’ and Raul H. Garcia, who apparently ‘supports’ Liverpool.

Firstly, DJ & Paul – it’s nice that you’ve finally joined us in the ‘raging at refs’ camp. We’ve been there a large part of the season, and also had 2 fair penalty shouts turned down ourselves on Wednesday night. It’s been a theme of ours, and many other teams’, seasons. Yours, however, have benefited quite a bit. Particularly since Jose went on his yearly rant about the vendetta against him.

Speaking of which, seeing as you’re so irate at refs now, fancy giving us those 3 points from OT that the officials managed to reduce to 1 by the way of an atrocious decision to not call offside against Valencia? No, didn’t think so. I know one of you mentioned the call being ‘close’ but it really wasn’t. Nor were most of the others close either, so don’t kid yourselves into thinking the refs’ decisions weren’t as bad in your favour as against you last night.

Secondly, Raul H., if you are genuinely a Liverpool fan then you might want to lay off the sauce for a while, as fans like you are the reason we’ve become a bit of a laughing stock. I bet, after half a dozen games, you were calling us for the title. Now we’ve had a bad run, Klopp is clueless and we’re a pile of crap.

Broken we most certainly are not. Having a bad patch, which was inevitable, we are. Our main issue is that teams aren’t just willing to submit without a fight, hence why our intense pressing that was previously so successful is struggling because nobody is stupid enough to come against us and try to play expansive football.

Also, the injuries, missing players, etc. hasn’t helped as our strongest side has barely touched the pitch since last year. Most sides are now facing us with 10 men behind the ball, in their own half, hoping to catch us on the break. It’s worked a few times in January, and will again. Klopp won’t let that last indefinitely.

Meanwhile, you’re welcome to go and support somebody else. And mind you don’t hurt yourself, your knee seems to be jumping all over the place.
DaveT, LFC

If push came to shove
Everyone seems to be going a bit mental over Arsene Wenger’s push on the 4th official. The way most papers are talking, it sounds like they want him banned from football.

If only there was a similar event a few years ago where we could see what punishment had been handed out. Oh, wait a minute, Alan Pardew pushed an assistant ref didn’t he? What ban did he get? Was it a 10 game stadium ban? A 200k fine? 3 months in jail? Let me check the internet. Oh, it was a 20k fine and a 2 match touchline ban.

I suppose I’m probably biased, but shouldn’t there be consistency in these matters? Of course Wenger should be punished, but shouldn’t the punishment be the same as when the exact same thing happened previously?

As for the suggestion from Lynton that the FA have it in for Mourinho because he got a ban for kicking a bottle, I’m afraid he has his facts wrong. He got sent off for kicking a bottle, as did Wenger at Old Trafford. So total consistency there. The one game ban was because it was his second dismissal of the season, which is a standard punishment for dismissals. It’s why Xhaka is getting a 4 game ban instead of a 3 game ban for his sending off.

In terms of punishing Mourinho, the FA have been entirely consistent. However if Wenger gets anything more than Pardew did, I think you will find it’s Wenger that has been victimised.
Adonis (A lot of moaning from Man Utd fans for reaching a final. Imagine if they had lost!) Stevenson, AFC

 

Alternative Arsene facts
What a strange email from Graham Simons, Norf London.  In making his point for Wenger to go he has a paragraph on the Arsenal side that won the league in 1989.  They were the ‘last English champions to win the league only using British and Irish players in 1989’.  The ‘squad was awash with English players and yet none of them featured in the 1990 England World Cup squad.’  Eh? How is this a proper argument against Wenger?  British and Irish players? 1990 World Cup squad?

If you’re going to argue against Wenger by all means talk about his signings, his tactics or how he may show too much faith in some players.  Talking about an Arsenal team from nearly 30 years is a non-sequitur.  It’s like saying Southgate isn’t a good manager because England won the World Cup in 1966 with their star striker injured for the final.  Or Rodgers should go because Celtic won the European Cup in 1967 made up of players from a 30-mile radius.

He then tops it all by making up the fact that Wenger said he is happy with second.  Total fabrication!  In fact, if you Google ‘Wenger happy with 2nd’ you’ll see a video straight away of Wenger saying the opposite.  I think there’s a job waiting for him with the Trump administration with his alternative facts.
Johnny Byrne, Bangkok.

Love for Sutton (not Chris)
Loved your piece on Sutton Utd today. I’ve always had a soft spot for them after finding out in secondary school (this was the late 90s) that my English & History teacher was the one and only Barry Williams. If you don’t know the name he was the manager of Sutton Utd when they knocked Coventry out of the FA Cup. He was such a lovely man and it was always a joy to go to his lessons, especially if you got him onto the discussion of football as the whole lesson plan would be forgotten. He gave me my only ever nickname as well, what a guy.

Believe it or not he wasn’t even our school football coach!

Would love to know if he is still knocking about, if he is he must be getting on a bit. The interweb says he emigrated to Spain many years ago.
Doris (Paulinho Fowler) Day

Stats life
Great stats article by Peter Goldstein this morning. Football is still in its infancy with regard to metrics, so we need more articles like these to try to understand the intangibles in football I would like to point out of a few corrolaries to his thoughts on Total Shots Ratio and Shots on Target Ratios.

Of course, first, it is dangerous and reductionistic to think that you can capture a team’s performance based off a few numbers. Several important factors that the TSR and SoTR do not account for are tactics and timing of goals scored. He brings up the example of Tony Pulis. Peter does go too far to say that Pulis “gets more out of his team” than any other manager. It’s simply that Pulis’s tactics are to shoot less and defend more. His explanation that the “better” teams are at the top of these stats is one explanation, but the other is that they generally play the most attractive football (i.e., with lots of shooting compared to other teams).

Another factor that is not accounted for is the timing of goals scored. Every goal in football is sacred, and tactics change drastically after a goal is scored sometimes. It is not uncommon for a team to “park the bus” after an early goal (whether or not they should). If this occurs, then their shots will inevitably go down, but they will get a result. It would be interesting to see some sort of hybrid statistic taking this into account (SoTR of opponent after leading, for example, to see if a team is defending well). Lastly, I still believe the table never lies. Results are king, regardless of how the stats describe you got there.
Kevin, MUFC, USA

The greatest cynical foul ever
Forgot to mention in my last mail my favourite ever cynical foul, step forward one Ole Gunnar, playing at home against Newcastle and chasing the game Newcastle break away from their own box with a long ball out to Gary Speed out on his own and through on goal, Ole chases him down and boots him up in the air then walks down the tunnel thus giving United a slim chance of getting back into the game. Perversely I hated the foul by Willie Young of Arsenal in the FA Cup final, ruining a young boys chance at Cup glory.
Paul Murphy
Manchester

 

I noted your piece on cynical fouls and there was one player in my mind who was the king of this. Mr John Moncur.

West Ham fans loved Moncur for his shirt out style, his random little cruyff turns on the half way line and the fact he was an absolute nutcase on the pitch.

I struggle to remember a time where he didn’t get booked or sent off when playing against Spurs. Even when he was used as a late substitute he would always find time to kick someone up in the air. The cynical foul was a good way to get the crowd fired up even more.

I remember meeting him and Dicksy in the players lounge after a game against Bolton about 20 years back , I was so excited, we had beaten them 1-0 so I was really looking forward to meeting my heros, Dicksy in particular. I don’t know if it was so overwhelmed at the time but looking back at the photos I failed to notice Moncs and Dicksy both with a pint and fag on the go. True athletes those boys.

Normally it would have shattered my illusions of these heros of mine, but if anything it made me respect them even more for putting in those sorts of performances on 20 a day and penchant for a few stellas.
Ross (Not sure those fellas would last 10 mins now mind you) Jenkins WHUFC

Quiz: The Premier League’s best goal partnerships

It’s Friday afternoon, so let’s treat ourselves to some quizzical goodness.

Today, we test our knowledge of Premier League goal partnerships. Which two players have combined to score 35 goals or more between them in a single Premier League season?

We missed four and we don’t care how you did because now we’re upset.

Wenger: We are relentless in the last 5 minutes of games

Arsene Wenger thinks Arsenal’s tenacity was overlooked in their recent win against Burnley as his own conduct overshadowed a dramatic late win.

The Gunners boss said he would request a personal hearing following a Football Association misconduct charge after being dismissed from the dugout in the dying stages of Sunday’s Premier League victory.

Wenger had until 1800 on Thursday to respond to the charge but revealed on Friday that he would not be contesting it.

The Frenchman was sent off by referee Jon Moss after allegedly using abusive or insulting language towards fourth official Anthony Taylor after an injury-time penalty was awarded to the Clarets.

Wenger then tried to watch the remainder of the contest from the entrance to the tunnel and was shown pushing Taylor, who was asking him to retreat.

With Wenger in the dressing room, his side rallied and earned a 2-1 win after Moss awarded them their own last-gasp penalty.

“Yes, this team has shown qualities that are very important,” he said when asked if his team’s approach had been lost during the frantic ending at the Emirates Stadium.

⚽⚽⚽⚽

🎉 As it's his birthday, let's remember when @Yayasanogoal22 did this…

How many of you were there the day he scored 4️⃣️ v Benfica? pic.twitter.com/EtaX6O4Vg5

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 27, 2017

“We are team that has produced more goals in the last five minutes than anyone else, it shows that we are relentless and a refusal to give in no matter what happens, we keep going.”

Arsenal, who were playing __with 10 men after Granit Xhaka’s red card, have now taken 10 points by scoring goals in the last four minutes of six league matches so far this season.

Without those late strikes, Wenger’s side would be languishing down in seventh place, rather than sitting second behind London rivals Chelsea – and the Frenchman believes that shows a certain steel.

“That is a very interesting quality in the squad. On top of that, the contribution of the players coming off the bench this season has been absolutely remarkable.

“That shows you as well that there is a great unity in the team. These are qualities that will be very important going into the last four months now.”

Wenger takes his side to face Southampton on Saturday in the fourth round of the FA Cup, and while he intends to rest a couple of key figures, he insists his side will be a strong one.

Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez sat out the third-round win at Preston but Wenger named a much more recognisable side than many of his Premier League counterparts.

“We’ll put out a team __with first-team experience,” he said.

We're looking forward to having you back, @theowalcott pic.twitter.com/ONqGYI0NpT

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 27, 2017

“Maybe there will be one or two younger players, but no more. Overall, it’s the squad that will play. I have not yet completely decided who will play and who will not play. It’s a first-team squad who will be involved.”

Former Saints youngster Theo Walcott could return from a calf injury to be involved while his England colleague Danny Welbeck will be pushing for his first start since recovering from a long-term knee problem.

Arsenal were due to return to St Mary’s in the league in under a month but that game will now be rearranged after Claude Puel guided his side into the EFL Cup final with a semi-final victory over Liverpool.

And Wenger believes Southampton will take plenty of confidence from overcoming Jurgen Klopp’s Reds to set up a Wembley final against Manchester United.

“They are on a high,” he added.

“They produced a fantastic performance, so overall that makes the game even more interesting and more difficult as well.

“They are not short of confidence at the moment and will certainly have a big support, but it’s an FA Cup game and we want to qualify.”

Wright criticises Sturridge after another poor display

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright thinks Daniel Sturridge needs to work harder if he is to impress Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool fans.

The England international has only managed six goals for Liverpool all season and is without a goal in his last five appearances for the club, including their 1-0 loss at home to Southampton in the EFL Cup semi-final.

Unfortunately for the Reds, Sturridge’s run of poor form and lack of goals has coincided __with Sadio Mane heading off to the African Cup of Nations.

And Wright reckons Sturridge should be scoring more of his chances and working harder to win a long-term place in the starting line-up.

“Mane is a massive miss because he gives them that drive past the back four,” Wright told The Sun.

“Daniel Sturridge doesn’t do that. He’s not getting past the back four and breaking the lines. Liverpool have lost that.

“People might not like Daniel’s body language or that he’s maybe not working as hard as he should be to try to cement a place in the team.

“He’s missing some very good chances.”

Sutton United: The most traditional of giant-slayers

Ahead of Sutton United’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against Leeds United this Sunday, Dominic Bliss spoke to striker Matt Tubbs, manager Paul Doswel, and chairman Bruce Elliott, to find out more about a club sticking to tradition in non-league…

You should know that this piece originally appeared on the excellent The Set Pieces.

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Matt Tubbs has been here before. The journeyman striker made his name __with goals in FA Cup giant-killings for both Salisbury and Crawley Town before going on to enjoy a league career __with the likes of Bournemouth and Portsmouth.

Now he is back in that familiar role as the spearhead of an overachieving non-league side as his new club Sutton United prepare to take on Leeds United in the FA Cup fourth round.

There may be an element of familiarity about it all for Tubbs, but there is no disguising his excitement as he sizes up the task facing Sutton in front of a sell-out 5,000-strong crowd at the Borough Sports Ground this Sunday.

“It’s massive,” says the 32-year-old. “You watch the FA Cup every year and there’s always one non-league team that gets a good cup run.”

Tubbs made an immediate impact after joining the National League club on December 1, scoring a debut goal in the second-round victory over Cheltenham Town two days later. That strike brought Sutton level just after half-time and set them up to go on and clinch victory six minutes into stoppage time. In the next round they beat AFC Wimbledon 3-1 in a replay to book the tie against Leeds.

“The first half wasn’t great,” admits Tubbs of the performance against Cheltenham. “They dominated, but we kept it down to 1-0. Some strong words were said at half time and we came out and scored at a good time, in the 46th minute. Then we obviously took the game to Cheltenham and Roarie Deacon scoring in the last minute was just the icing on the cake.”

The chances are that those strong words were spoken by Sutton’s long-serving manager Paul Doswell, who has overseen nothing short of a transformation at Gander Green Lane since his arrival in May 2008. A smiling, charismatic figure, who stops to talk with everyone he encounters in the short time I spend with him at the ground, Doswell appears to love what he does, giving the impression of a proud father of the bride shaking hands with guests at the bar.

He has every reason to look that way. Sutton have achieved two promotions during his tenure, moving up from the Ryman Premier League to the National League, and his legendary ‘little black book’ has enabled him to bring in some pretty astute signings. Winger Craig Eastmond, for example, made 10 appearances for Arsenal, including one in the Champions League, while midfield playmaker Nicky Bailey represented Charlton and Middlesbrough and once moved for more than £1 million. Now he has returned to the club where it all started for him and it already looks to have been quite the coup for Sutton.

Doswell’s popularity with the supporters is clear for all to see. After the win over Cheltenham he strode onto the pitch, punching the air, with a look of unadulterated joy spread across his face. The fans behind the goal that Deacon had just fired the winner into let out a huge cheer as the manager came into view and he mimed a worshipful ‘not worthy’ bow to them in return. Then, as the celebrations became less restrained, a collection of supporters leant over the hoardings at the front of the stand and hugged him tight, one after another.

“I was pleased for them as much as anything, pleased for the club,” Doswell tells me in Sutton’s press room – a small space under the stairs that leads up to the directors’ box. “It’s funny in football, but one little thing, one little goal and everything starts moving in fast forward.”

‘Doz’, as he is affectionately known, is not your average football manager. In fact, by day, the 50-year-old is the managing director of a construction and development business, and he doesn’t take a wage from Sutton United. He has even dipped into his own pocket to invest in the club’s infrastructure. “I’ve also got seven children!” he adds when I ask about the various commitments he has to juggle.

With so much going on in his life away from the game, where does the motivation to manage a semi-professional football club in the fifth tier of the English league pyramid come from? “I’ve always loved the game,” he states, simply. “I know that, without football, my life would be a bit difficult. I’ve either played it or managed almost from the day I was born. So it’s a huge part of my life and then I’ve got the other two good bits, which is the family and work to go with it.”

Despite competing regularly against professional clubs, many of them former established members of the Football League, Doswell’s squad train two mornings a week and many of them have day jobs. Yet, when I meet him, his side have just defeated Wrexham 1-0 in a league match. “Wrexham beat us 5-0 here four years ago and, whilst it wasn’t the best game I’ve ever seen today…to beat them 1-0 here, in front of 1,600 people, shows how far we’ve come.”

For all that Sutton have progressed on the pitch, the club doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It feels like an authentic local club, very much in the traditional sense.

“It’s still got a non-league mentality,” Doswell agrees. “That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with the club. In the time since I’ve been here the club has taken huge strides forward – having the 3G pitch has made a huge difference, for example – but it is still totally a community-based football club. Offering season tickets for 100 quid to adults was a stroke of genius, I think, because [the number of season-ticket holders] has gone from 110 to almost 1,110 and that’s a massive increase by anyone’s standards.”

Lowering the price of a season ticket to bring more fans through the turnstiles and guarantee the goodwill of the staunch regulars is just one of the reasons why Sutton can rely on their supporters to volunteer for various odd jobs around the ground. But it also makes good business sense – as does the artificial playing surface, which allows Sutton to lease their pitch to various other local sports clubs on non-matchdays, thereby swelling the coffers without fear of churning up the turf. And that’s without mentioning all those avoided postponements.

There is little doubt that this is a club punching above its weight, and that is why the Sutton story is so intriguing.

On those few occasions when non-league clubs find themselves the subjects of national media coverage it is usually because a fan-run club has emerged from the ashes of a fallen old favourite, or because a wealthy benefactor has bankrolled his local team’s surge up the pyramid. Sometimes we are invited to peer into the souls of those former Football League perennials who now find themselves trapped in the purgatory of the National League (formerly known as the Conference) after suffering the humiliation of dropping out of the top four divisions.

But it is increasingly rare for a traditional part-time non-league team, run by local volunteers in club blazers, to fall under the spotlight. Ahead of Sutton’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Leeds, it feels rather good to see this throwback of a club – whose management openly admits that promotion to the league is not on the agenda – taking on the storied old clubs who have fallen from grace.

Among those enjoying the ride is Sutton’s chairman of 20 years, Bruce Elliott, who was keen to join his manager in pointing out the difference between his club and their professional opponents throughout the season. “Wrexham came down yesterday, stayed overnight at the Marriott Hotel, did it all properly – what you would call professionally – and that costs a lot of money,” he tells The Set Pieces.

“We’ve already been to Wrexham this season, and we were unlucky to lose, but we did it all in a day. We were up at the crack of dawn, met up in town, got on the train to Wrexham and came back again the same day. That’s why we’re particularly pleased we’ve managed to get some points against these proper football clubs.”

Don’t mistake Sutton for a bunch of pub footballers, though, just because they are proudly semi-pro. Doswell has assembled a talented squad of players, nearly all of them with league experience, and Tubbs points out that the difference between a part-time and full-time schedule is not as marked as you might think.

“In a normal week, let’s say a professional team trains Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday,” he explains, giving us the benefit of his experience at both levels. “Well, Monday would be a light session after the game on Saturday, and we don’t train that day at Sutton. Then, on Tuesdays, everyone will work hard regardless of which club they’re at. Wednesdays, everyone is off. Thursdays, everyone will work hard because they’ve all had a day off. Then Fridays, when we are off, the full-time teams will just have a light session ahead of the game on Saturday. So there’s not too much difference.

“Plus we’ve got lads in our dressing room who won’t just sit on the couch on their days off, they’ll be active with it – some of them might have to with their jobs. So it’s not a case of people sitting on their arses and not really doing anything with their time off, it’s a time for you to actually get up and do something.”

Even so, to any long-suffering supporter the idea of Sutton meeting the likes of Wrexham, Tranmere Rovers and York City on an equal footing would have seemed ridiculous eight years ago. But when I ask Doswell if club’s progress over the past few years has outstripped his expectations when he took the job, he is unequivocal. “No, because if you know me, I’m very, very ambitious and I always felt I could get them to the National League,” he says with customary assuredness.

“Now the next plan is to be a good National League club, because we don’t want to be a League Two club – that’s not part of the ambition. The ambition is to be the best non-league club we can be within the National League, knowing that we’re competing against [clubs] that are just way beyond anything that we know.”

Elliott is grateful to have a manager like Doswell, who has bought into the club’s traditions and knows the limitations of Sutton’s set-up. It feels more like a partnership between board and manager than the usual club-employee relationship, and the chairman is clearly delighted with the way things have gone under the former Eastleigh boss. “When Paul Doswell came to us, we were languishing a little bit,” Elliott recalls. “My version of events is that he interviewed us and appointed us as his club!

“He wanted to do the football and have somebody else to do off-the-pitch, whereas previously I think he had ended up doing both. So we ended up in a situation where, having put that brief to us, he then said, ‘I don’t want any money for it. I want to do it for love.’

“He’d obviously done a lot of research about us as a club, he’d done his homework, and he said, ‘Look, I don’t want paying. I’m just happy for the money you’d normally pay a manager to go back into the playing budget and that means I can get an extra player or two in the squad.’

“It’s all been a very quick rollercoaster ride since then. Doz was the perfect fit for this club, and he loves it. He’s bought into it 101 per cent and he knows what a special place it is. The runaway train seems to keep going faster and we’ve just got to make sure we don’t fall off.”

Before he was chairman, Elliott was a Sutton supporter, having first shown up at the Borough Sports Ground as a schoolboy. He has been around long enough to have seen the ground full before and points out that – in the pre-Taylor Report days – Sutton managed to fit 14,000 people in for an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Leeds in 1970. Although that game ended in a 6-0 defeat for the men in chocolate and amber (don’t let the locals hear you describing their colours as ‘yellow and brown’), it is still fondly remembered as one of Sutton’s legendary encounters with the big boys.

Of course, their famous 2-1 victory over then top-flight Coventry City in 1989 is the most fabled of all. That game – which has its own Wikipedia entry – is recalled in vivid detail every year on British television. For Doswell, however, this is an opportunity to add a new chapter to Sutton’s FA Cup history, so that younger fans and the current crop of players no longer have to relive past glories.

“I mean this in a very positive way”” he says, prefacing his feelings carefully. “Ever since I’ve been here everyone talks about Coventry, Leeds, Middlesbrough and the Norwich games – especially the Coventry game – and you’re reminded of it, either by looking around the club at the pictures or by the fact that so many people mention it to you.

“What we’ve done now is made some more recent memories for them because you can see the buzz around the place. So, from our point of view, this current team has won promotion and it’s got through now to the [fourth round] of the FA Cup. They deserve some praise now as well.”

Whatever happens on Sunday, Doswell’s Sutton vintage have already secured their place in the club’s history. But don’t rule out an encore against Leeds.

Dominic Bliss – follow him on Twitter here

Thanks to Ben Jennings for the photos.

The FA have an agenda against Jose, not United

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

Ref rant
Apologies in advance to everyone, in case this does get published, but it’s time for another rant about referees. I just saw Mourinho’s rather typical quotes, dismissing the Hull penalty and claiming we didn’t lose. This could just be another case of Jose being Jose, and providing a juicy soundbite when there’s no need to. But, the man has a valid point – Jon Moss was utterly awful yesterday. Terribly inconsistent __with decisions for and against both teams, and not at all a refereeing performance worthy of a cup semi-final. I’m just really glad Mourinho was able to keep his cool and avoid another sending-off, especially given he has previous __with the same ref.

Not to take away from how bad we were (we were terrible). But something clearly needs to be done about the standards of refereeing in English football. It’s been the story of the season so far, almost every game being followed by a dissection of poor officiating, and this is something that kind of kills the joy of watching football. I fully understand and appreciate the element of human error, it’s definitely a sh*t job, and very difficult to do. But these are trained pros we’re talking about, and there is a line, one which seems to have been repeatedly crossed by nearly every referee in the league, at one point or another this season.

I admittedly only watch United games, so can only honestly whine about decisions against us. But I follow the mailbox closely enough to know that fans of nearly every club have had a serious gripe about one ref or another this season. To suggest there is an agenda against any one team is utter rubbish, but I don’t think anyone can deny that the overall refereeing standards have plummeted in the past few seasons. Are the referees really that much worse now than, say, 10 years ago? Or does the amplification of every single mistake on social media just make it seem that way? Moreover, is this a problem just at the PL level, or does the incompetence filter all the way down to League Two? One way or another, something’s broken, and seems to need fixing.

Rant over, and I’m truly sorry once again.
DJ, MUFC (Hull look decent under Silva, a great escape might just be on the cards) India

I’m a United fan and can certainly say we were bloody awful last night but the worse performer on the field of play was one John Moss, If that was a penalty then United should of has 2 themselves, I cannot for the life of me understand what it was given for, two Hull players clattered each other after the usual penalty box jostling the shout of ABU’s that Rojo had hold of his shirt is laughable. That said we have seen an alarming drop off in form from United and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Jose gets stick for slating refs so when he shuts up and says he won’t say what he thinks he still gets slated the fella can’t win. Anyway Cup Final reached so it’s all good.
Paul Murphy
Manchester

I know Jose complained while at Chelsea but as a United supporter I think we getting some shocking decisions not going our way and I’m going to agree with Jose. Maybe the FA are out to get Jose, stats prove it this season. How long before something is done? Numerous penalty shouts all not giving granted one or two of them were soft-ish but other teams in the league got those decisions. Can’t even use the term I’ve seen those given when we not given anything!

I know that we had 3 offside goals giving this season to us which should of been ruled out but those where close calls. Only after second viewing could you see the player was offside and if the ref had any doubt it was offside, I have no doubt it would have been giving offside and rightfully so.

We will have to see what punishment Wenger gets to know if the FA are out to get Jose. Is the water bottle more protected that an officially?
Lynton (The FA out to get Jose! NOT United)

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Complacency or fatigue?
* Well if there was one place to end this streak this was it now everyone can focus on performances without major repercussions.

* That being said that was an abysmal performance everyone looked asleep in the first half if this was because utd had a two goal lead then it doen’t bode well for the europa cup run were they will be teams with the ability to overturn it if this is symptomatic of recent results then I hope the loss wakes the team up because everything could unravel if they keep this up

* The team selection felt like a wasted opportunity why play Ibra and Ppogba for 90 minutes in this game pogba’s first half was so bad Roodney Marsh suggested we bring him on at half time and Ibra needs a rest we have potentially 30games left to play in the next 4 months and there is only one international break he could have sat on the bench in this game only to come on if we need to score one goal to kill the tie, hopefully he stays at home against Wigan.

* It felt like a good day to chose Lingard a game were we are trying to fall back and stop the opposition from scoring unfortunately all he gave was a headless chcckhen performance were he was ineffective on both sides I actually recalll Herrera shouting at him after he lost the ball in the build to the corner that lead to the penalty . I don’t understand why he keeps getting second chances and Martial gets to sit in the stands.Jose also really needs to make up with Blind and Shaw because Rojo is just not a left full back.And Ashley young needs to be the next one out if he’s third or fourth choice in all the four positions he can play.

*Overall I’m happy Utd are playing in another final man management will be crucial we’ve got a big enough squad use them and try and get our form back
Timi MUFC

Fourth place Wenger > second place Wenger
I love Arsene Wenger, i really do. I have defended him against fellow Arsenal fans for years and believe he is a legend of the game. I am convinced his achievements in keeping Arsenal within the Top4 while using the likes of Schillachi, Denilson, Bendtner, Song and Chamakh from 2006 – 2012 were really under appreciated. One journalist at the New York Times this week highlighted that he likes Pochettino, Klopp and Conte because they do not believe in buying players as a solution. I almost fell of my chair – this is the gospel Wenger has been preaching for years on end, yet getting lambasted from left, right and within.

However, since the money became available and he bought Ozil, Sanchez, Cech, Xhaka etc, Wenger has now developed a squad capable of winning the league. I agree with those who, earlier in the season, said this was the best squad in a long time. Not only that, but a squad that has been built over the last 3-4 years without transfer disruptions, must be reaching its peak – in both age and performances.

Like Chelsea, the core of Wenger’s squad are players at their peak age – think Sanchez, Ozil, Giroud, Theo, Kos, Cazorla and Cech but I fear Kos, Cazorla and Giroud (if that is possible) are only going to get slower next year. I look at Spurs, Liverpool and even ManU and see younger cores with potential. Alternatively, Man City’s core (Yaya, Zaba, Kompany, Silva) is old. But for Wenger, the best opportunity has to be now.

My point is that the Wenger that got 4th place consistently in the league got more out of his team than the Wenger who is getting 2nd place with world-class players. The two recent FA Cups may be used as his justification, but surely they reinforce my point – this is the most opportune moment to bag the league. Or maybe he is he just unfortunate, to come up against once-in-a-blue-moon Leicester City and then a Europe-less Chelsea.
Lee, Durban, South Africa.

Liverpool are broken
Anyone who’s been in the football world can tell this Liverpool team is broken. It’s not something so evident as a team fighting for relegation but it’s clear to the trained eye that the dynamic of the team that once thrived has been dented severely if not thwarted completely.

Remember when fernando torres became a broken player at chelsea? This liverpool team looks very much like him.

You tell me how can a team with coutinho, firminho, sturridge, lallana not create a single chance in the first half against soton?

You tell me how could we not score a single goal over two legs against a very disciplined but little talent squad??

So now Claude Puel has the “blueprint” to stifle liverpool as bandwagon idiots like to say??

Of course not. It’s klopp’s team and his message/magic/methods which are broken. I thought after last night’s demise he must have thought of quitting. I think we haven’t won a single game in the past 6 in all competitions… losing twice at home to swansea & soton. That’s beneath liverpool and it’s storied history.

What are we? We were 2nd a week ago and everyone feared going us forward. Next thing you know we can’t score if our lives depended on it. In fact, in the derby against united, hadn’t pogba gifted the dumbest penalty in the history of mankind, we wouldn’t have scored. Anyone could tell that. We’re afraid in front of goal. Last night was the same. The whole crowd screaming for a penalty because we know we can’t score anymore…

A dumb section of our fans saying if only we had mané somehow none of this would happen.. Jesus how much in denial are you? And klopp completes the ridicule by blaming the wind (jesus number 2..) He looks so clueless on the touchline. He’s no fraud god knows. But his heavy metal brand of football -whoever coined that line- is slowly becoming a heavy burden for liverpool fans. Judging by last night’s performance it was better to exit at the hands of southampton than to lose ANOTHER final and of all teams against united which would’ve hurt three times as much. And as a fan, when you say that you’re basically waiving the white flag and rejecting competition, which is the essence of the sport.
Raúl H. García (Props to Claude Puel, decent manager!) LFC 1892-YNWA

 

Reality check
Please, for crying out loud – Liverpool are 4th, 2 point with better goal difference off of 2nd.  Yes we are out of the league cup but we are still in the FA cup.  We have had a blip, no one can deny that but are people so caught up in the instant time filling 24 hour news cycle and the yellow Sky Sports News Ticker that EVERY thing is a crisis?  Imagine if Chelsea loose in the FA cup this weekend and then loose to Liverpool on Tuesday will the Daily Mail headline be “CRISIS for CONTE”?

I am more than happy with this season as a whole and as rational people point out that every team has dips.  The champions elect (the first ones) Man City are now 5th.  The Champions elect (current) Chelsea had a difficult start to the season.  My team who no one thought had a chance of winning the league let alone finishing in the top 4 sit, and I say this again 2 points with better goal difference off of 2nd.

This is without over the last month or so having our best player, our newest and most dynamic attacker and possibly our best defender. Yes, we are having a dip, but I fully trust Klopp to pull us out.  But let us not forget – we are 4th, 2 points with better goal difference off of 2nd.

That being said I think he needs to man up and get rid of Sturridge and find a new forward for whenever Mane, Coutinho or Firminio are not available as it is obvious that Daniel or Origi do not fit into this fluid formation.  I would also think that in the summer we need a better passer than Henderson because even though he has done well he does not that that X factor that could take him to the level of Xabi Alonso, Gerrard or a Scholes

However, if at the start of the season I was offered this position I would have taken it.
Ian H

Kloppy just needs new ideas
I can’t say those coming to the defence of Mr. Klopp in the afternoon mailbox was unexpected, but is it justified?

Lets look at the ‘team is knackered’ defence. So far in January, Liverpool have played Sunderland, Plymouth Argyle twice, Southampton twice, Man United and Swansea.

Of these games, the replay against Plymouth could’ve been avoided by winning, at home, against lower league opposition. That would’ve meant more rest time between games (5 days between games instead of 2). Either way, this didn’t directly affect most first team players as Mr. Klopp played most of the kids for both ties.

Sunderland should have been a win, but Liverpool had just come from a tough match against Man City, and it was less than 48 hours apart. Fair enough, pass on that one.

For Southampton, we knew before the first whistle how the opposition would line up. Liverpool had all of the ball, and no idea what to do with it. Complaining of being a tired team doesn’t really hold water when you can walk the ball to the opponent’s 18 yard area and pass it around comfortably. This happened in both first halves of the ties.

Swansea was similar in the first half, all of the ball, none of the creativity. The second half was a humdinger as Liverpool then had to chase the game, and were ultimately found wanting.

I am not saying Klopp out or bring new players in. But he does need to figure out how to break down teams who set up defensively, trust the younger players to deliver when a first team player isn’t, and stick your best players in their positions, leave Mr. Guardiola to the funny positional changes.
Nathan,

Square pegs in round holes
Perhaps I am taking too simplistic an approach that Liverpool’s poor run is due to the new? approach they have when in the final 18 yards of the opposition half.

For the past six or seven games coinciding with their poor run, there is not enough movement off the ball and attacking players are not going at defenders. The player with the ball is simply passing to a player who is already marked or into a crowded area or takes a shot which is destined to strike an opposition player or go wide.

When we were the most feared attacking side (not so long ago at all) our attacking players were taking on and drawing out defenders and passing to players on the move off the ball or finding space to make a decent effort on goal. They were a joy to watch even for neutrals. I cannot put my finger on what happened. Cannot be that they are all knackered. Must be more tiring to keep all that possession and have nothing to show for it.

If management can solve this we will be merrily back to winning ways.

Best wishes
Younus Long Beach CA-wonder if management reads our comments in 365

A Tottenham fan loving cynical fouls
I read the Last Defender article on cynical fouls with great delight and nods of agreement.

Growing up I always thought there was something almost noble about a player sacrificing himself to get sent off for a ‘professional foul’ and am sad it doesn’t seem to happen that much these days (at least the word ‘professional foul’ is rarely heard any more).

But more than that, as Spurs fan, while I’ve no time for the off the ball dirtiness and diving that I will certainly admit our players sometimes get up to (*cough* Alli *cough*), I love how we have become experts at using cynical fouls as a vital part of our tactics. This isn’t just a couple of players either, every player does it exceptionally well. The fouls and yellow cards rack up but, crucially, the reds don’t- we haven’t had a player sent off in a season and a half now. It’s a major reason for the meanness of our defence.

I don’t know why I enjoy this aspect of our style under Poch so much but maybe just because it is another part of how un-Spursy we’re becoming. Lots of strange feelings these days watching Spurs……but I like it!
Tom, Melbourne

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Football books
Are we doing football books?

Decent.

Full Time at the Dell (from Watty to Matty) by Dave Juson and David Bull is a super well researched and well written history of Southampton football clubs history whilst at our proper ground.

You can pick it up on amazon for a penny off music magic and to be honest every time i read the opening chapter on Le God’s last league goal I do a little happy cry. Which obviously is totally manly and cool because it’s 2017 so shut up Dad.
Martin “wet tissues and clear issues” Ansell

If we are doing football book recommendations, and we are, here are mine.

Bill Buford – Among the Thugs.
American academic sees thuggery in the early 80s, decides to witness it first hand for a decade, writes about it.

Simon Kuper – Football Against the Enemy
Bloke travels the world to answer the question ‘Why do people from ‘x’ play footy that way?’ Doesn’t answer the question, really, but writes a fascinating book.

Enjoy.
Alex Stokoe
Newcastle upon Tyne

Throwing my hat into the reading list ring (and let the haters hate the first title!)

“Soccer Men” by the redoubtable Simon Kuper. A number of thumbnail sketches of some of the game’s most influential figures over the years. Great stuff.

Adding my two thumbs up for “Inventing the Pyramid”.

I’d also suggest “Das Reboot” by Raphael Honigstein, or “how German soccer re-invented itself and conquered the world”. Not for the xenophobe, but plenty of insight and lessons to be learned.

I’m going to be a contrarian here, but you’ve got to be really dedicated to read David Goldblatt. I slogged through “The Beautiful Game” because I usually refuse to give up on a book, and I read a lot. “The Ball is Round” however, gave me literary indigestion and I waved the white flag with around 811 pages unturned. I recently had to read the entire 2016-17 budget proposal for the Los Angeles Unified School District and, at 302 pages, I enjoyed it more.

However, the Razzie Award for 2016 for me (Clive) goes to Steve Tongue for “Turf Wars – A History of London Football”. Either he published this himself (always a bad idea), he was paid by the word or his editor was drunk.
Steve (Goldblatt’s New York Times piece on the Bristol City’s “Shed Man” was great though), Los Angeles

 

Bear-tron
Massively late on this, but I’ve only just caught up on the mailbox. Like Paul (that well known French name) Clement I simply assumed that Ryan (another famously French christian name) Bertrand was pronounced Bear-Tron, and was another off the vast Chelsea production line of young foreign imports.

I was absolutely bewildered when I heard he’d been selected for the England squad.
Jamie Bedwell, Cheltenhamshire

Hangeland names his Premier League ‘Lazy XI’

Former Fulham centre-back Brede Hangeland didn’t hold back as he named 11 of the laziest Premier League stars he has played with.

Speaking to Heia fotball podcast in Norway, the recently retired footballer ripped into a number of his former team-mates __with Emmanuel Adebayor and Dimitar Berbatov getting the worst of it.

Hangeland reveals that he saw Adebayor taking coffee breaks at the gym despite being paid by three different clubs at the same time.

“I was marking Adebayor in midfield,” said Hangeland. “Suddenly he said: ’Ah, I’m hungry.’ I replied: ‘What?’ He said: ‘I can’t wait for the game to finish. I’m so hungry. Do you know a good restaurant in London?’

“At Palace, when we had strength workouts, he would sit in the gym __with a cup of coffee and a muffin. He was being paid by City, Tottenham and Palace at the same time, and he was sitting in the gym drinking coffee.”

The Norwegian claims that Berbatov was as bad as Adebayor for skipping the gym, with his former Bulgarian team-mate receiving endless massages while everyone else worked out.

“If only he ran,” said Hangeland. “Never seen a man get so many massages in my life. Whenever we were in the gym, Berbatov was getting a massage. I knew the guy who gave him the massages.

“Usually at the end of the season, the players would give all the physios a gift. But he’d massage Berbatov for hundreds of hours during the season and he would get nothing.”

The full XI: Wayne Hennessey, Chris Baird, Zdenek Grygera, Erik ‘Panzer’ Hagen, Wilfried Zaha, Jimmy Bullard, Mousa Dembele, Bryan Ruiz, Bobby Zamora, Dimitar Berbatov, Emmanuel Adebayor.

Klopp: It’s a little bit like building a house

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool’s confidence has taken a hit after the recent run of poor results.

January has been a poor month for the Reds, having scraped past Plymouth in the FA Cup, they were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Southampton on Wednesday and have slipped to fourth in the Premier League.

Only one win in seven games against a League 2 side has left confidence at a season low but Klopp doesn’t think it is “that serious”.

“How could the confidence be exactly the same? Of course it has changed, it has influenced us. We have suffered a little bit,” Klopp said at a press conference on Friday.

“It’s a little bit like building a house.

“We are still building. It’s not that serious. It’s not a big problem. We have the next chance tomorrow. That’s nice.”

Loris Karius made a few good saves against Southampton on Wednesday and Klopp thinks the goalkeeping position is now the least of their worries.

“I understand 100 percent, we talk about the problems we have,” Klopp added.

“A lot of people thought last year we weren’t happy __with one goalkeeper, now they think we aren’t happy __with too.

“But I think goalkeeper is our smallest issue. I am fine with the goalkeeper issue.”

Mails: Is this the secret to loving punditry?

Enjoy your weekend, look forward to 16 Conclusions from Storey on United v Liverpool, and send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

The big preview
Great mailbox this week __with a range of different topics but, as a Liverpool fan, the weekend is dominated by one match-Margate v Poole Town Man Utd against Liverpool. I hate Man Utd games, genuinely __with a passion. I would be very happy if we never had to play them again. The stress and horror of the thing isn’t worth the potential of a win. My dad and my oldest friend both support Utd and I have to close down any communication because I have no sense of humour whatsoever for ‘banter’ around the matches, even if Liverpool win. I can take defeats elsewhere, I really can (even Chelsea, but perhaps not Everton- although that is only really a theoretical these days), but I cannot accept Utd winning. Especially now they are managed by Mourinho.

In terms of this match, I see a role reversal of Mega Monday™ at Anfield. Liverpool were in cracking form and Utd turned up looking for the nil-nil (with the potential for a counter attack goal obviously). Under Mourinho they were able to do this successfully. We are now facing a Utd side on a run of nine wins in a row with a monster up top. This means most (every?) right minded Liverpool fan would take a nil-nil now. But, unlike Utd under Mourinho, there are obvious question marks over whether Liverpool under Klopp can do this. Klaven cannot do this, Lucas cannot be involved, Can is debatable and we are relying on Mignolet. If Henderson isn’t fit Liverpool are in real trouble.

So, roll on Monday. I would love to wake up having witnessed a soporific nil-nil draw. No shots on target for Utd, one for Liverpool so we can endlessly claim we could have won it (in the style of the Ibrahimovic header at Anfield) and we can all move on with our lives.
Micki Attridge

Weekend Watcher (bring back Big Weekend) mentions that we were all crying out for the midfield of Carrick, Pogba and Herrera in September and October.  Yes we were and it is now proving incredibly effective, but that doesn’t mean Jose was wrong not to give it to us at that earlier time.

Allow me to elaborate.  Man management and squad management is not just about saying the right thing at the right time.  It is about doing whatever necessary to provoke the maximum positive reaction from your players.  A theory – Jose believed that would be his best midfield three, but playing them together from the start would send a message of “there you are now, my favourite combination, off you go and play”.  Whereas holding them back, while everyone clamoured for said combination made them fully determined to perform well when given the opportunity.

Maybe not, and maybe I’m giving Jose too much credit.  But these are the terms in which top class managers must think.  Maybe it backfired a bit given that we went through such an unexpected bad run.  Or maybe Jose is a proven top class manager and he has many, many other inputs into his decision making than just who is on form/injured.

Either way I enjoy thinking about other potential factors that might be at play for a manager that we as fans would not consider.
Ryan, Coillte

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Arsenal fans
Kushal,

I’m really not sure you can speak for all Arsenal fans – particularly when claiming our fans have lost their connection to the club or that we only feel connected when the club lands silverware.

Certainly, that’s when us fans party most raucously and rightly so but a lack of silverware doesn’t make any of us less connected to the club.

I don’t buy Arsenal shirts anymore but such is my connection to the club that I often forget that my oyster card holder and my passport holder have an Arsenal badge emblazoned on their front or that when I’m out on a run an old Arsenal shirt is often my dress of choice.

For some fans, and I’m sure I’m not the only one, the club is just ingrained into our lives that the connection cannot be lost – much to their annoyance. Look at Claude on Arsenal Fan TV – normal advice to someone that annoyed by something is just to give it up but we all know Claude won’t give up Arsenal.

I won’t either even if Wenger signs on for another season – I’ll just carrying on going and sending annoyed letters into this mailbox.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London

 

Fake news
Arsene Wenger today on Arsenal being linked with Torino striker Andrea Belotti:

“That is what you call today ‘fake news’.

Brilliant. Say what you like about his tactical naivety, but he does give cracking quotes. In his second language.
Adonis Stevenson, AFC

How I learned to stop caring and love punditry
During a 3am nighttime feed for my new baby I decided to catch up on some of the many hours of recorded football highlights my new daughter’s arrival has superseded.  Whilst watching I strangely found myself nodding at all the cliches and Captain Obvious statements made by pundits where previously I would tut and sigh.

Was it the sleep deprivation?  Or maybe the hours spent watching Cbeebies with my eldest had forever altered my perceptions.  Prolonged exposure to Mr Tumble asking “can you see the horse” followed by a horse panning into shot and then “yes – there it is” must surely cause some lasting damage to adult brains?

Finally the overall drudge of parenting (feeding/nappies/tantrum/rinse/repeat) makes it more difficult to really care.  When I see Chris Sutton grumping up the place my brain defaults to thinking he probably just needs a nap or a snack than really caring if Ryan Giggs was unfairly overlooked for the Swansea job.

Maybe bad pundits are just overworked parents?
Dan (neither topical nor relevant – he’ll be disappoitned with that), LTFC

In defence of Payet

When you’re creating a league high 74 chances so far, and this is the calibre of striker your board picked to build on the wonders of last season, is it any wonder you want to leave? While the manner this has unfolded is unsavoury, Payet deserves to ply his trade towards the top of the table, not the bottom. Granted, he could be playing better, but not much. Only a select few players can drag a team by themselves, and Payet is, unfortunately, not one of them. Is it his fault that the rest of the squad have seemed to down their tools as well?
Néill, (We might have another Merse inspired Mediawatch this weekend too), Ireland

Mediawatch extra on ‘Arry
I think ‘Arry’s Evening Standard column from last night has to get a mention. Self-aggrandising own achievements with Portsmouth? Check. Particularly enjoyed the ‘we won at Man City’ about a pre-oil money City who can’t have finished in the top flight top 10 for about two decades prior to 2005. Like boasting about a win at Stoke.

Also, slagging off the excellent Wilf Zaha. Burnt out and a failure at 23 apparently. Smacks of a Wilf rejection of Harry’s advances as Spurs boss if you ask me.

Keep up the good work!
Kieran Agnew

But did Merson have a point?
It feels a bit strange, but I’m actually going to (in part) stand up for Paul Merson when he says Sunderland shouldn’t accept anything less than £60m for Jermain Defoe.

Whilst on the face of it, it’s an absurd statement, and as mediawatch pointed out, you can hardly envisage Sunderland turning down a £59m bid were it to happen, however, when considering the vast sums on offer simply being in the top flight, the insane numbers make such a statement much less… er… insane.

I don’t know how much the bottom club can expect to receive next season, but a quick Google spits out a suggestion of £81m. Now, Sunderland are embroiled in a relegation fight that could well go down to the wire, with very fine margins determining whether they enjoy another year sat at the banquet of financial luxury, or be forced to the meagre buffet table that is the Championship.

Certainties are few and far between in football, but I think most would agree that Sunderland’s chances would be greatly reduced without the goals of Jermain Defoe. It could well be that his contribution is the fag paper thin difference required. Now, say Sunderland did opt to sell him – even for a ridiculous amount – who could they get in that would likely do as well as him? It’s all conjecture, but they could potentially go and blow the lot on a striker who just doesn’t quite hit the ground running well enough, or reinforce the rest of the team, who don’t quite gel quickly or well enough, or do everything really well, except put the ball in the net.

Again, the figure might be an exaggeration, but the assertion that Defoe is greatly more valuable to Sunderland than he might be to any potential suitors isn’t.
Nick Hamblin, Bristol

 

Brooks v Crooks
Niall from Denver’s dislike of the perennial Ronaldo v Ronaldo debate led him to the suggestion of why not go the whole hog and compare people in random fields such as Lionel Messi v Lionel Richie. He and your other readers might enjoy the current issue of Viz, which boasts their groundbreaking article, Who is the Greatest Garth? Brooks v Crooks. Regular readers of Mediawatch will be pleased to know that Crooks sneaks the award thanks to scoring highly in the ‘Getting number of players in a football team wrong live on TV’ round.

Happy Friday!
Tom (YCFC – yes, there are a couple of us left), Salisbury.

And the rest of those battles
Niall (for me Clive, Beckham’s hair just edges it), Denver raises some interesting points.

Firstly, clearly Benitez.

Secondly, hmmm, well Beckham couldn’t pull of a sideshow bob but Luis would looked ridiculous with curtains so I’m going to go with Beckham because he’s pretty.

Our third winner is Lionel Richie, close call but he edged it.

The fourth one is an invalid question, Pablo Aimar hasn’t peaked yet.

And finally yes, poor Pellegrini was sent right up the Noriega without a paddle.  I’m not saying they were exactly the same but, you know.
Matt, AFC

Why shouldn’t we compare?
I think Niall is far too harsh on the concept of comparing Ronaldo’s. Why wouldn’t we compare? Isn’t that just human nature?

Besides, it isn’t as fatuous as two random people with the same name. I remember when Cristiano Ronaldo signed for United thinking “there’ll only be one Ronaldo as far as I’m concerned”. Is it a sign of Cristiano’s brilliance that my thoughts haven’t proved true? That one of the most iconic names in football history has been competed with and we can even talk about the “two Ronaldos” at all? And that’s a big part football is all about I think. The great names and the great histories, what gets conjured up when you hear Pele, Puskas, Zidane. Who do you think of if I hear the name “Ronaldo”? Who will be the person who gets thought of in twenty years or fifty? I think its fair, and fun, to speculate.
Luke, London

ps. old Ronaldo still for me, but I’m a nostalgic.

 

Watch the NFL Play-offs and Premier League this month. Only £18 a month extra if you have Sky Cinema

Hold on a second…
Enjoyed the Ray Houghton piece by Johnny Nic, but I think he may have inadvertently stumbled across something when mentioning Ray’s goal against Italy in 1994. As Johnny wrote, you’re often better mis-hitting it. That sounds a lot like ‘he’s almost hit it TOO well, Clive.’ Who else played in that match in 1994? None other than Andrew David Townsend, that’s who. Was this the anecdote that underpins one football’s most recognisable punditry phrases?
Andy, London

 

More on Graham Taylor
I know we’ve already seen a few tributes to Graham Taylor over the last day but, as a Watford fan, I wanted to add to those. I don’t really think I’m the best person to articulate everything that was great about him since his first stint at Watford came before I was born but I’ll do my best.

I grew up as the youngest member of a Watford-supporting family. We had season tickets throughout my early childhood and every other week my parents would take my two older brothers and me to Vicarage Road. I had only known second- and third-tier football when Graham Taylor was appointed manager for the second time in 1996. I didn’t know anything about him at this point as I was only 9 years old, but my parents told me that he had been Watford’s greatest ever manager, and he remains so to this day. He probably always will be. I’m sure you all know his achievements by now – from the fourth division to 2nd place in the first division within five years, 3rd round of the Uefa Cup, FA Cup final, etc – but it’s not just the successes he brought on the field that make him so well loved in our little town.

As successful as he was, results were never the most important thing to him. He demonstrated that you could have success and still be a nice person. You’ll struggle to find a more dignified person anywhere in the footballing world. And he left a lasting legacy at Watford. It was vital to him that the club was at the heart of the community. Players had to understand what they represented and what they meant to the fans. Every player under his management was contractually obliged to carry out at least seven hours of community service per week. This community-based approach continues to this day, and was one of the biggest factors in attracting the Pozzos when they were looking to buy a club in England. And you can say what you like about the club being a shambles with the manager turnover since the Pozzos bought the club, but without them there might not even be a club. They saved us, and took us into the Premier League, and they did so directly because of the work that Graham Taylor started 40 years ago. Every new player we sign also comments that the club feels like a family more than anywhere else they’ve ever been.

This kind of thing is Graham Taylor’s greatest legacy at Watford. He ensured that, no matter the results on the pitch, Watford will remain a club that its fans can be proud of and feel connected to.

In addition to the above, I have also just remembered a story my mum told me a few years back from Graham Taylor’s first spell in charge at Watford. My parents were walking the 10 minutes or so between where they had parked and the stadium and suddenly realised Graham Taylor was walking next to them amongst the crowd of fans. My parents were confused and asked him why he was walking to the ground – surely he had his own parking space – and he told them that he often liked to walk amongst the fans – preferably unnoticed – to hear what they were talking about and how they felt about the goings on at the club. He then continued to chat warmly with my parents for the rest of the walk to the stadium. Just another example of how important the fans were to him.

So here’s to one of the nicest men ever to set foot on a football pitch. Watford will be forever in his debt.
Jimbles, WFC

A short letter to highlight Graham Taylors decency from an Irish perspective. Obviously when you read through his managerial career there are some stunning succeses, but his decency and humanity always shone through, and I think in no case is this more pertininent than Paul McGrath. Some might consider it hyperbole to suggest that Taylor played a role in saving McGraths life when he was at his lowest ebb, but McGrath himself praised the way he was treated for his alcoholism by Taylor, never discussing it in public and shielding him from the press, and never complaining that McGrath had become in McGraths own words, ” A walking mess”. This excerpt from McGrath’s autobiography is highly informative of the mans brilliance as a manager and a man:

“He had every reason to be furious,” McGrath wrote. “One of his big signings had turned out to be a walking mess. But he was open and caring. He’d say to me: ‘Look, if you need something, come to me. We’re all here to help you.’ That was his attitude. I felt I could talk to him on a level I had probably never talked on with anyone else in football. I don’t think I’m being melodramatic when I say that he literally rescued me. Under another manager, I suspect my career would have been over. But Graham Taylor’s sensitivity worked wonders. The more we talked, the more determined I became to repay him. I felt this urge inside. I wanted to play for this man.”

One of a number of English managers to be treated shamefully by the redtops, he carried on with a dignity and grace they lack. Many thanks to Graham for contributing to Irish successes by looking after “Black Pearl of Inchicore”.

RIP Graham

“ar dheis de go raibh a h-anam dilis”
Oisín
MUFC
Kildare, Ireland

Manager confirms Memphis deal is his ‘No 1 priority’

Lyon manager Bruno Genesio has confirmed that he wants to sign Memphis Depay from Manchester United.

The Ligue Un side emerged as contenders for the winger’s signature way back in the summer, but are now leading the chase to rescue him from Old Trafford.

It has been reported that the French side have had a £13million bid rejected, and Genesio has confirmed that he intends to do a deal for the Dutchman.

“Memphis Depay is a player who I have prioritised,” Genesio said. “He is my number one priority.

“Contrary to what you have read or heard, I am a fan of Memphis Depay.

“He is a complete, powerful and powerful player. It operates on its side, an area that must be strengthened. He should be recruited as soon as possible.

“It’s not me who discusses the price. There are several parameters to take into account, the price is one. He’s a player __with huge potential, who’s still young, so he’s an interesting player for us.”

Defensive stats reveal style not performance

In this piece we’ll conclude the look at individual defensive stats that we started last week….

Clearances
Clearances are a spectacular stat to which there’s usually less than meets the eye. Although you can make some interesting comparisons between full-backs or holding midfielders, it’s really only significant for central defenders. Worse, the stat is severely skewed, because defenders who play for teams that have to defend a lot tend to rack up large numbers. The league’s King of Clearances is James Collins, who’s invariably near the top of the list. Last year’s leaders per 90 minutes were Lamine Koné at 9.4, followed by Collins, Ramiro Funes Mori, Younes Kaboul, Ashley Williams, Ryan Bennett, Steve Cook, Sebastien Bassong, Phil Jagielka and John O’Shea. Two from Norwich City, Sunderland and Everton. Note that although it can help, you don’t have to be great in the air to make the list. Funes Mori, Bennett and Koné were average in aerial duels, Williams, Kaboul, Jagielka below average. Aerial monster Virgil van Dijk was a couple of places short of the top ten, as he is this year as well.

Incidentally, Koné’s 9.4 was quite low for the league leader; usually it’s over 10, and sometimes up around 12-13. This year’s current leader is Cook, at 9.8, followed by Papy Djilobodji, Jan Vertonghen, Winston Reid, Williams, Ben Mee, Jagielka, Calum Chambers, Nicolas Otamendi and Will Keane. Two each for Burnley, Everton, and for Sunderland if we go to 11th place and Koné again.

In one way, the more clearances you have, the less talented you are, or at least the less continental. That’s because clearances are defined (explicitly for Opta, implicitly for Whoscored.com) as getting the ball away from your own goal without any intended recipient. So to overstate it a bit, clearances are for hoofers. A check shows that teams in La Liga average 11.4 to 24.1 clearances per game, whereas Premier League teams average 20.8 to 31.1. Last year, when Funes Mori and Jagielka were in the top ten, their teammate John Stones was next-to-last among central defenders. In case you hadn’t heard, Stones likes to play it out from the back. This year Cesar Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill are 1-2 at the bottom, __with Stones fourth from last. Oddly, Wes Morgan is quite low, only three places above Stones, and both he and Robert Huth have dropped from their championship season. Neither is what you’d consider to be a ball-playing defender. That’s worth a closer look when you watch Leicester play.

Along __with such season-by-season comparisons, clearances tend to be most interesting at individual match level. They can tell you how a defender stayed strong under siege, like Nathan Aké’s 15 clearances as Bournemouth held off Stoke 1-0 this season. But again, you can have your share of clearances and still get beaten for the winning goal, as Aké did this year when he had eight clearances against Southampton.

The highest single-game clearance numbers actually have little to do with the result. Because defensive headers from long balls into your half of the pitch usually count as clearances, the big numbers come when you’re facing an aerial bombardment. Thus Otamendi notched 19 clearances against Burnley this year, and OMG here-he-is-again-call-his-agent Vertonghen managed a ridiculous 21 against the same side. And if you’re very lucky, you don’t have to go far up the pitch at all. In the immortal match when David Moyes’ Manchester United delivered 82 crosses against Fulham, very tall person Dan Burn sent back 22 of them, 20 from inside the penalty area.

Blocks
We’ve already taken a brief look at blocks, in the first piece in this series. As noted, a high number of blocks usually indicates a defender and a defence that sits back. James Collins has been a regular here too, as was Richard Dunne in his time, and more recently Ryan Shawcross and Gary Cahill. with the advent of the three-man back line, we can expect players in the wide positions to have fewer blocks than usual, and ones in the middle to have more. For example, Cahill’s blocks are at an all-time low this season, Michael Dawson’s at an all-time high, although Dawson’s are also influenced by the way Hull have played. The central defenders at the bottom of the list this year are Shkodran Mustafi by a wide margin at 0.2/90, Azpilicueta (influenced a little by his time at FB), Otamendi, Koné, Stones, Jonny Evans (a little FB there too), Joel Matip, Cahill, Jose Fonte. The surprise is Koné, particularly since Djilobodji is so high. We’ll come back to this contrast in a while.

But next is a stat which you rarely hear about, but which is one of my favorites, and measures a precise and valuable skill: crosses blocked. Your leaders for last year (per 90 minutes, as always): Christian Fuchs at 1.8, followed by Aké, Brendan Galloway, Paul Dummett, Cédric Soares, Neil Taylor, Danny Simpson, Angel Rangel, Aly Cissokho and Martin Olsson. That both Fuchs and Simpson make the list is very much due to Leicester’s overall defensive set-up, but it also seems likely they were instructed to block where possible. (They’re both in the top five this year so far.) Swansea has both Taylor and Rangel on the list, and Everton would have had both Galloway and Oviedo if the latter had played two more minutes. So coaching must play a part here. At the bottom was Daryl Janmaat (and I’m sure Newcastle fans would have a lot to say about that, since Dummett was in the top ten), then Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy for Man City. I’ll let you check out this year’s list on Whoscored.com.

Fouls
Fouls are a relatively clear and simple stat which can tell you a lot about a player’s style. But if you’ve never seen lists of the top foulers, you might be in for a surprise. Here it is for 2016-7, per 90 as always: Josh King at 2.4, followed by Gareth Barry, Nordin Amrabat, Christian Benteke, Fernando Llorente, Marten de Roon, Paul Pogba, Callum Wilson, Victor Wanyama and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Five out of the ten are strikers. That’s a bit of a shock until you realize that they’re always battling for balls both on the ground and in the air.

But the foul numbers that tell us the most are about midfielders and defenders. Strikers pretty much have to foul a lot, midfielders and defenders not so much, depending on their job. Gareth Barry second on the list is telling – he just doesn’t have the pace to keep up anymore, and frequently fouls because there’s no alternative. Amrabat is a surprise; he’s neither a defensive midfielder nor a striker, although he does play some defence as a wing-back. But the high ranking suggests indiscipline on his part. Pogba and De Roon are aggressive central midfielders, and we know about Wanyama. By the way, a couple of places down is Roberto Firmino, who’s on the list because he’s such a strong presser.

A central midfielder may have to foul now and then for tactical and intimidation purposes, but when a back line player fouls, it’s almost always a failure of some kind. The top fouler among central defenders is Jordi Amat, who we’ve met before as an aggressive tackler and shaky defender. The top fouler among full-backs is Allan Nyom, who has a rough-and-ready style, although I thought he was a better defender than that. In fact, his fouls are up from 1.3 to 1.8 this year, a pretty large jump. Is Tony Pulis a factor?

As suggested, though, fouls come with the territory if you’re aggressive. So if we want to measure a defender’s precision, we can divide fouls by tackles + interceptions: the higher the number the clumsier you are, and the lower the number the more surgical. I haven’t seen this stat anywhere, so I’ve done a few calculations for central defenders this year, and the highest number belongs to…Robert Huth. Damien Delaney is second. Good stat, then. Two players who foul a lot but make up for it with high totals in the other categories are Shkodran Mustafi and Winston Reid.

Who’s the most precise central defender? Very much to my surprise, it’s Curtis Davies. He’s been great one day, poor the next, but he commits very few fouls. John Stones follows, and perhaps it’s significant that they both often play in three-man defences, where the fouls may be spread out a bit. Among centre-halves in a back four, the most surgical (as Daniel Storey probably could have told you) is Steve Cook.

So what does this all add up to? Anomalies in general may tell us worthwhile things. Tackles among holding midfielders and full-backs seem to a degree to track skill; tackle percentages can be useful; interceptions for holding midfielders have some application; maybe cross-blocking can measure performance as well as tactics; fouls can tell you about defensive precision. And before I forget, aerial duel percentage, which we covered in the opening article, is a worthwhile measure of central defenders. But that aside, when we’re looking at centre-halves, those crucial members of the XI, we really don’t have stats to measure overall competence.

In fact – and here’s the punchline – it’s been shown that individual defensive stats for centre-halves, even when adjusted for possession,  have in fact a very low correlation with defensive success, measured by shots conceded. So we really can’t use them to measure performance.

But, as we’ve suggested, they can be used to measure style. We’ve already seen the difference between Koscielny and Mertesacker in interceptions. Let’s compare the two for a range of numbers per 90 minutes for the year 2013-14, when both were relatively healthy and in their prime:

Koscielny
Aerial duels: 3.2
Aerial success %: 53.5
Tackles: 1.8
Tackle success %: 83.1
Interceptions: 2.9
Clearances: 7.7
Blocks: 0.8
Fouls: 1.0

Mertesacker
Aerial duels: 4.1
Aerial success %: 68.3
Tackles: 1.2
Tackle success %: 74.5
Interceptions: 1.7
Clearances: 7.2
Blocks: 0.5
Fouls: 0.3

It’s clear that Koscielny is the more aggressive defender, with notably higher tackles and interceptions, more fouls, and the better tackling percentage. Koscielny also seems more willing to throw himself in front of a shot. Mertesacker is more passive, better in the air, significantly more precise, and asked to make more aerial challenges.

Now let’s move to this season’s contrast between the Sunderland pairing of Lamine Koné and Papy Djilobodji.

Koné
Aerial duels: 4.2
Aerial success %: 65.7
Tackles: 0.9
Tackle success %: 75
Interceptions: 1.8
Clearances: 7.4
Blocks: 0.5
Fouls: 0.5

Djilobodji
Aerial duels: 5.0
Aerial success %: 68.7
Tackles: 1.4
Tackle success %: 65.6
Interceptions: 3.5
Clearances: 9.5
Blocks: 1.3
Fouls: 0.5

Remarkably, Djilobodji leads in almost every category. He’s clearly the more aggressive, with a solid lead in tackles (although Koné is the better tackler), and a considerable lead in interceptions and blocks. Despite his aggression, he’s significantly more precise than Koné. He’s also more likely to go for the aerial challenge, and is a little better in the air. He has more clearances, too, but that may be more style than competence. Koné more often passes short, 76.0% of the time vs. Djilobodji’s 65.8%, which may indicate Koné is more comfortable with the ball at his feet, and is thus likely to pass out of the back more. Again, something to watch.

Either way, remember that Djilobodji’s lead in almost every category doesn’t mean he’s overall a better defender than Koné. He’s had some good games lately, but Burnley a few weeks ago was nightmarish. The numbers just won’t tell you how defenders mark, or how often they get beaten. Still, the good news is that using stats to measure central defensive style has reached a high level of sophistication. We can only hope someday to do the same with performance.

Next time: Passing.

Peter Goldstein