Week 10

Bluebird99 · Cult Status

Week 10

Simon · Cult Status

Valladolid celebrate victory

"We know Celta Vigo are a reasonably small club, but the magnitude of the score line means that we are celebrating it. I had said prior to the game that I didn't think we could top our 9-0 result against them from last season, but I was glad to be proved wrong. 10-0 is astonishing, plus a couple of players were suspended for the game so had we had everyone available I could have put out a full squad and therefore more goals may have been scored. I have been told that 10 goals is the most goals scored in a game so that's great news for the team, the fans and me. Fair play to Dan; the Celta Vigo manager, they did well to keep us to one goal by half time but our quality showed. I told the team at half time to play for fun, we had a goal lead and I believed our defence could hold strong if we pushed for more and while Gary Cahill pushed forward and earned himself a couple of assists, our other two defenders hung back and kept a clean sheet on their own. The result between Sevilla and Barcelona suited us, but both were competitors so whatever the result someone would be dropping points. All I hope is that we can win against Sevilla and Madrid can take points off Barce in two week's time."

Spartikus47 · Cult Status

Saints stall Toffee's as Kallstrom signs

Everton boss Mark Rollings refused to criticise his players after watching his talented side struggle to get the better of a determined Southampton side in a decent game at Goodison Park. Rollings fielded various questions in his post match interview and unveiled his latest signing, Swedish international Kim Kallstom.

on the game...

"Credit to Steve and his players! When we went 2-0 up I don't think many would have predicted we wouldn't go on to win the game but Southampton showed great determination and got themselves back in the game. I know publically Steve has suggested he is disappointed but I think privately he will be happy with his last couple of results. There league position is false and they will start beating the teams just above them and move into the play-offs. Its a question of when rather than if. I could sit here and say we should have done this, or not done that but on this instance I would rather congratulate Southampton and simply ask my players to show what they can do in their next game."

on Kim Kallstrom...

"It is a fantastic acquisition from us. Jackie (Yeo) will tell you that I have ben after him since I joined and sometimes you have to bide your time. When I first made my approach for him Jackie wanted to see how he performed in his system but now we have our man and I am convinced he will play a crucial role in getting us promoted. We are sad to see Cristiano go and wish him well. I know how good he is and Jackie has a fine player."

on Iain Turner's stint outfield...

"I have always maintained I am a tactical innovator and yet again I have illustrated my immense talent (room laughs). No in all seriousness it was an administrative error, by the time we noticed what we had done the FA had received our official team sheet and Iain had to play. He popped up with an assist and now he will be walking around the place thinking he is Cristiano Ronaldo. Maybe he will get a stint up front next week!".

on Real Valldolid's amazing 10-0 scoreline...

"I thought it was a vidiprinter error at first! They are looking deadly at the moment and with so many young players they are a blueprint for any aspiring club looking to build towards success. Simon has helped us out over the last couple of weeks with the benefit of his knowledge and it can only benefit Everton for us to continue trying to build up a strategic partnership. They represent where we want to get to and how we want to get there!"

Steve · Cult Status

Just a thought - but looking at the titles this week:

"Valladolid Celebrate Victory" Stating the obvious

"Saints stall Toffees as Kallstrom signs" Daily Telegraph

Some people already do this - Steve DE and Mark etc. I wondered whether we might get into the habit on here of producing tabloid headings for our media / match reports? Could even run round the leagues each week?

For example:

"A Perfect 10" - Valladolid's win this week

"Parma Ham" - Sinclair's media plan to shut down Juventus lasts 4 minutes!"

"Gunners blast Owls" - 4 goal Arsenal win against Sheffield Wednesday

"Roman Holiday" - Three goal Pavlyuchenko for Chelsea

pricey · Cult Status

Mistaken identity - Inter manager tries to transfer player from Chelsea who doesn't even play for them

Poor Preston don't know where goal is - Preston North End fail to get even a shot on goal

Wining it before half way loses match - Serie B Favorite Reggina lose 5-4

Toothless Davis fails to find the net again - Udinese fail to score and many fans wounder where the next goal is comming from

Poor Valencia smacked for 8 - Valencia a team very much on the down get taken apart by Espanyol

-- Edited by pricey on Monday 21st of June 2010 08:48:41 PM

Spartikus47 · Cult Status

Nothing Novel about Reading Chapter for Toffee boss

Everton boss Mark Rollings has vowed to end Reading's unbeaten league one record "in style" but has insisted it's just another three points for his side. Everton look likely to face a shoot out against the Royals, Norwich and Leicester City for the two automatic promotion places this season, meaning the match takes on added significance for both sides. Rollings was keen to play down the extra significance of the match ahead but insisted his side we're ready to dent his rivals title bid.

"We haven't been more confident heading into any match this season. It's a shame Ezequail Arana had to pick up his fourth booking last week, meaning he misses the trip, but we knew it was coming and have been working on things in training to cover his absence. We are playing an experience Reading side who I believe will struggle with the way we play football. Our push for the league title starts this weekend!"

Rollings is know to be in the market for another striker, following the departure of Cristiano to Villarreal. However, the Blues boss hinted he may bide his time and wait til after the half season point.

"We have a modest transfer kitty left and if we need to we can move on players. We have made a few enquiries but have to make sure we get a deal that's right for the club. It may be that we wait til after the halfway point to see whether any of the youth team are ready to step up and start working with the first team. We have a raft of extraordinary talent in the academy and it won't be long until the likes of Jack Rodwell, Dan Gosling and Seamus Coleman are ready to make the step up. Jose Baxter is a young striker who is very highly rated and holds scoring records with England under-19's so maybe he can fill the void. We have a focus towards young talent at this club and I have been advised by some high profile managers to have faith in your academy."

Spartikus47 · Cult Status

That title is for you Steve (J) ;)

Caption of the week competition maybe???

Sinky2707 · Cult Status

Why Steve why did you have to make me feel worse than i already do ;)

Football Academy · Cult Status

Managers; why they bother

The Aztecs used to perform human sacrifices and so, in a manner, do football clubs. Managers seem to only last on average two seasons in each job in FA, and although it had been the English leagues most active in sackings, this trend has developed into Italy and many expect Spain to follow. The successful managers build a team in the first, achieve success in the second, and promptly move to pastures new to start all over again. The less fortunate in the ranks of management can be gone in a matter of months if the rebuilding phase in season one instantly impacts drastically on the clubs performances in comparison to the season's targets. So club chairmen around Europe are currently sitting around discussing which new Messiah to appoint next. They might say they want someone who wins matches but in fact, that's only one of three qualities that clubs seek in their manager. Here is how the search appears to work.

Even if clubs wanted winning managers, they would struggle to find them. That's because club managers affect teams performances much less than most people believe. Sports economists have shown that amounts spent on players salaries explained a massive percentage of the variation in league positions. Other than the English Championship, one of the top three paid teams in each league is top of the table at this stage. In short; the club that pays its players the most, wins. No other factor - such as who happens to be manager - matters much.

The counter argument would be that the clubs who pay players most also attract the best managers. So the clubs with the best players would also have the best managers. But this argument is unpersuasive. Firstly, if some managers are good and others bad, why does the performance of individual managers vary so much over time? Klose and Torres are always good players. They have the odd bad patch, but nobody ever thinks they are rubbish and need sacking. Yet it is on the whole the teams in the top flights, or recently relegated teams from those leagues, who sack their managers. So on that basis it is the best managers being sacked.

In truth there are probably two types of managers, but not good and bad. These are loyal and journeymen. The loyal managers are those spending much more than the typical two seasons at each team, getting time to build a squad suited perfectly to well oiled tactics. The journeymen are those constantly trying to find a better team, in pastures greener. However the constant moving puts a bigger strain on tactics and when that one big job comes along they are often lacking the time to settle and the trend continues.

One important area could well be the transfer market and a managers ability to negotiate. Teams in the past have given large war chests to managers to spend, and yet the money gets frittered away and the team fails to perform. On the other hand teams on a budget can wheel and deal their way up the tables with good managerial negotiations.

Another key area often overlooked is the media. The media allows managers to create a persona, and to put themselves out on the world of FA as a whole not just their league. If a manager only ever reads the papers and looks at teams they play, it limits who they can hear about. Those managers making a name for themselves in the media get FA wide coverage and often, if good, this can attract the attentions of teams after a new manager. FA history is scattered with media battles that have left one managers results on the pitch in tatters while the media battle winner pulls off the shocks on the pitch thanks to the mind games.

Yet ultimately, whatever the manager does, it is arguable the manager of a team can only lose the match, not win it. With the right players and right backing of funds a manager can still lose a match with bad tactics, failed media battles and poor transfers.

Proof that wages bring success is shown in the leagues today. However there are some surprises, the successes:

Aston Villa - Championship - 10th highest paid - 3rd in league
Palermo - Serie A - 10th highest paid - 5th in league
Messina - Serie A - 12th highest paid - 7th in league
Reggina - Serie B - 8th highest paid - 2nd in league
Athletic Bilbao - Segunda - 11th highest paid - 5th in league

And the failures:

Wigan - Championship - 6th highest paid - 11th in league
Inter Milan - Serie A - 2nd highest paid - 6th in league
Roma - Serie A - 4th highest paid - 8th in league
Udinese - Serie B - 5th highest paid - 10th in league
Valencia - La Liga - 6th highest paid - 10th in league
Getafe - Segunda - 6th highest paid - 12th in league

While the lists provide an insight, allowing comparisons between wages and league form, it doesn't take into account the amount afforded to the manager by his board to spend. After all spending £10 million on a £5 million player would be a waste of money but would only create wages equal to the players actual worth, not what was paid. As such, a notable missing team is Genoa who have been given a large amount to spend over three seasons however they sit 9th in the league with the 7th most expensive squad in Serie A. This suggests big money has been spent on cheaper players.

Looking at wages against points, Celta Vigo have spent £0.9 million this season per point, and expensive season!!

At the other end, Norwich, Reggina, Reading and Athletic Bilbao have spent the least - less than £0.03 per point - on wages so far this season.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Here is the table of every team, whats been spent on wages so far, and their league position with league points collected so far.

Team	Season Wages	League Position	League Points	Wage per point
AC Milan	£1.317	1	27	£0.049
Almeria	£0.587	8	8	£0.073
Arsenal	£1.376	4	17	£0.081
Ascoli	£0.741	5	14	£0.053
Aston Villa	£0.604	3	15	£0.040
Atalanta	£0.879	3	18	£0.049
Athletic Bilbao	£0.461	5	16	£0.029
Atletico Madrid	£1.181	5	19	£0.062
Barcelona	£1.912	2	24	£0.080
Birmingham	£0.648	6	12	£0.054
Blackburn	£0.734	12	1	£0.734
Bolton	£0.771	5	13	£0.059
Brescia	£0.769	1	25	£0.031
Bristol City	£0.577	12	4	£0.144
Cadiz	£0.562	10	6	£0.094
Cagliari	£0.401	11	5	£0.080
Cardiff	£1.225	10	3	£0.408
Catania	£0.584	9	8	£0.073
Celta Vigo	£0.898	12	0	£0.898
Charlton	£0.309	11	5	£0.062
Chelsea	£2.336	1	25	£0.093
Chievo	£0.785	12	1	£0.785
Coventry	£0.914	7	11	£0.083
Crystal Palace	£0.577	10	7	£0.082
Deportivo	£0.549	9	7	£0.078
Derby	£0.627	8	10	£0.063
Empoli	£0.512	4	17	£0.030
Espanyol	£1.304	6	17	£0.077
Everton	£0.599	3	20	£0.030
Fiorentina	£1.111	3	21	£0.053
Fulham	£0.325	8	8	£0.041
Genoa	£1.012	9	6	£0.169
Getafe	£0.721	12	4	£0.180
Gimnastic	£0.611	7	9	£0.068
Inter Milan	£1.379	6	13	£0.106
Juventus	£1.781	2	27	£0.066
Lazio	£0.759	10	6	£0.127
Leeds	£0.562	7	8	£0.070
Leicester	£0.519	4	17	£0.031

Football Academy · Cult Status

Team	Season Wages	League Position	League Points	Wage per point
Levante	£1.055	9	6	£0.176
Liverpool	£1.091	6	16	£0.068
Livorno	£0.489	8	9	£0.054
Man City	£1.775	2	25	£0.071
Man United	£1.881	3	19	£0.099
Messina	£0.646	7	10	£0.065
Middlesbrough	£0.987	4	14	£0.070
Napoli	£0.705	6	11	£0.064
Newcastle	£1.008	2	19	£0.053
Norwich	£0.628	2	22	£0.029
Notts Forest	£0.418	9	7	£0.060
Osasuna	£0.732	6	11	£0.067
Palermo	£0.734	5	14	£0.052
Parma	£0.721	11	3	£0.240
Portsmouth	£0.556	5	13	£0.043
Preston	£0.359	12	1	£0.359
Racing Santander	£0.757	4	17	£0.045
Reading	£0.574	1	25	£0.023
Real Betis	£0.726	2	21	£0.035
Real Madrid	£1.824	4	19	£0.096
Real Mallorca	£1.011	8	6	£0.168
Real Murcia	£0.452	11	6	£0.075

Football Academy · Cult Status

Team	Season Wages	League Position	League Points	Wage per point
Real Sociedad	£0.952	11	4	£0.238
Real Valladolid	£1.665	1	25	£0.067
Real Zaragoza	£0.791	1	25	£0.032
Recreativo Huelva	£1.029	7	12	£0.086
Reggina	£0.518	2	22	£0.024
Roma	£1.137	8	10	£0.114
Sampdoria	£1.054	4	15	£0.070
Sevilla	£1.515	3	22	£0.069
Sheff Utd	£0.786	9	8	£0.098
Sheff Wed	£0.797	11	2	£0.399
Siena	£0.608	7	10	£0.061
Southampton	£0.483	10	7	£0.069
Spurs	£1.300	5	16	£0.081
Sunderland	£0.682	1	22	£0.031
Torino	£0.432	12	1	£0.432
Udinese	£0.688	10	5	£0.138
Valencia	£1.279	10	4	£0.320
Villarreal	£0.805	3	18	£0.045
Watford	£1.374	7	15	£0.092
West Brom	£1.022	9	7	£0.146
West Ham	£1.493	8	10	£0.149
Wigan	£0.678	11	6	£0.113
Wolves	£0.525	6	11	£0.048

PUREADE1 · International Player

DANDO TELLS CITY FANS TO SUPPORT

Bristol City manager Hayden Dando today confirmed he would be staying as Bristol City boss untill the end of the season and asked fans to get behind the push for survival following last weeks dissapointing result against Wigan left the club bottom of the table, however he refused to confirm why he was staying.

Dando said "I will be here untill at least the end of the season, depending on off the pitch issues i may stay longer but that isn't to decide now. I am not going to discuss why i have stayed or my personal situation but i will say that we need the fans to get behind us if we are to have any hope of survival"

City face a tough game this week as they visit Middlesbrough but Dando said "Every game is a cup final for us now, John Carew is a huge signing for us and i am hoping he can form a good partnernship with Nicky Maynard. Van Den Borre has plenty of expirience too and Arbilla is a good player too so we are still moving in the right direction.

Liam · Cult Status

Liam Riste was interviewed on Sevilla FC Television today following the weekend results and the midweek cup action.

SFCTV: Well firstly, you lost to Barcelona 5-4 and fell below them to third in the league. You must have been disappointed to lose so late on?

LR: I was a little disappointed at the fact we have fallen to our lowest place in the league so far this season but again we made an amazing comeback, scoring the majority of our goals again around and after the hour mark. We pulled three goals back and had the momentum on our side! But we got caught late on and won't pick up any points for our troubles. In fairness a draw would have been fair but the amount of times we have snatched games in the closing minutes means that now we know how some of our unlucky opponents felt.

SFCTV: You had previously beaten Real Madrid but they knocked you out of the cup Tuesday, a loss to two of the big clubs in less than a week, how do you feel about this 4-2 defeat?

LR: I don't mind in the slightest really. I played out a weaker team and rested some ageing key players in favour of youth for the big games we have coming up. I wasn't expecting my team to win, just to give a good account of what they can do, which they did. Now we aren't in the Spanish Cup, we can focus on other areas such as the league and trying to qualify for the European Knock-out stages.

SFCTV: You have a hard task in trying to qualify for Europe, do you think you can do it?

LR: Yeah, we have a hard game against Man Utd, but if we win and Real Madrid beat Arsenal, we can go through mathematically as the second highest point scoring team finishing in third place on goal difference!!! As long as we beat Man Utd, we have a chance though, however I would have preferred to have the situation fully in control via my own hands, but unfortunately things have meant that they aren't and we must rely on Real Madrid doing us a favour!

SFCTV: Levante at the weekend! What is your game plan before you have your must win European game and Valladolid the weekend after?

LR: Win... I want to bounce back from my first league defeat with a win that I shall be expecting. If we want to remain in with a realistic chance of challenging for the top spot, then we need to show good bounce-back-ability. I am looking forward to playing Valladolid in just over a week and seeing the league tables at the halfway stage.

SFCTV: Your friend Ash is flying high and looking strong favourites to lift the Segunda trophy with his Zaragoza side. Are you pleased for him?

LR: Of course. He is a good manager and friend and I have put some cash on him winning Segunda and returning to La Liga. Prince has been a fantastic signing for him and I know Ash and Adam Prince have a good understanding from when they were both at Wigan, and Ash gets the best out of him. Moses is on loan and shall return after the Valladolid game, to Ash's displeasure. I know Ash wants him for the remainder of the season, but I have to weigh up the options as I have an ageing front-line now. However, we have spoken before and we shall both go for a pint with Victor and discuss the possibilities.

SFCTV: Ok well thanks for your time, we will look forward to the coming games.

LR: Cheers, and so will I.