The English Football Thread

[Atomiswave 6,072]

5 minutes ago, Vesper said:

its crazy that Leicester have no left-footed fullback other than some teen who was 18yo a few months back and was called up from the youth squad and the soon to be 35yo dregs Fuchs

plus they are reduced to using a 31yo Mfer (Albrighton) as their main RWer

yet they keep winning or drawing mostly, even with by far their best CB out for ages (Caglar Söyüncü)

Management Vesper...he has them in tune and motivated.

[chelsea_4_eva 1,157]

United are where they are on the table because of help, full stop.

[Vesper 28,772]

2020-21 English Premier League

Aston Villa                   
Crystal Palace             

http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-aston-villa-vs-crystal-palace-s1/

https://www.totalsportek.com/aston-villa/

[Vesper 28,772]

36 minutes ago, chelsea_4_eva said:

United are where they are on the table because of help, full stop.

absolutely, that and the fact they have a few of the biggest cheats in the league is why I hate them so

I am not even that wound up over pool anymore, now that they won the league

[Jase 43,479]

No Tyrone Mings for Villa against us on Monday. Sent off against Palace. 

[Pizy 18,368]

15 minutes ago, Jason said:

No Tyrone Mings for Villa against us on Monday. Sent off against Palace. 

Two really idiotic yellows as well. Should make our already dangerous setpieces and corners even more so in a couple of days.

Now all we need is for Grealish to pick up a small knock here and miss our match as well. 😆

[Pizy 18,368]

Villa are absolutely battering Palace playing with 10 men. Like seriously destroying them.

Terrible team to have to play with just 2 days between the Arse match. They are great in the counter and love to run.

[Vesper 28,772]

2020-21 English Premier League

Manchester City       
Newcastle United     

http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-manchester-city-vs-newcastle-united-s1/

https://www.totalsportek.com/highlights/arsenal-vs-everton-2016-match/

 

[Laylabelle 9,351]

2-0

[Milan 17,853]

Everton won it late, sadly.

[Vesper 28,772]

Smith Rowe, Saka and Martinelli can be Arsenal’s present and future

https://theathletic.com/2285416/2020/12/27/smith-rowe-saka-arsenal/

Kieran Tierney is perhaps the most relatable among this group of Arsenal players. If anyone in this squad is in tune with the supporters, it is him — and there was a moment half an hour into this vital victory over Chelsea when the Scotsman spoke for every Arsenal supporter watching.

As Emile Smith Rowe took the ball under control, looked up and laid it out wide, Tierney was sprinting down the left flank. He had just enough breath, however, to yell at the top of his lungs: “Yes, Emile! Go on!” It was a cry repeated on sofas across north London and beyond. Suddenly, Arsenal had a No 10.

It’s not that Smith Rowe’s 65 minutes on the field was particularly spectacular. In a season characterised by a dearth of creativity, however, it did feel stylistically unique. The likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Joe Willock have tried and failed to provide a point of connection between midfield and attack. For Smith Rowe, it is natural.

At times this season, a chasm has opened up between Arsenal’s central midfielders and centre-forward. That is the space in which Smith Rowe operates. You do not have to be a maverick or a match-winner to make the difference: sometimes it is as simple as having someone there, of offering a pass, a run, an option. Mesut Ozil once made an art form of doing simple things well, of finding space where the opposition are vulnerable. We do not yet know whether Smith Rowe shares that pedigree, but he appears to share those instincts.

This was just Smith Rowe’s second Premier League start — the previous occasion was almost exactly a year ago, the match before Mikel Arteta took charge of Arsenal. The hunger of a young player was evident in his defensive work too. As Arsenal’s recent run of poor results has steadily taken its toll, Arteta has gradually become a less animated figure on the touchline. An incident midway through the first half appeared to break him out of his stupor. When Smith Rowe pressed N’Golo Kante, regaining possession in the process, Arteta sprung back into life to applaud his efforts. The 20-year-old had not finished with the Frenchman — a deft nutmeg on the World Cup winner in the second half might have been the highlight of his night.

This was a victory Arteta and Arsenal desperately needed. It ended a dreadful run of seven Premier League matches without a win. After the wretched run they have endured, neither Arteta nor the supporters will be getting too carried away: the team are still ensconced in the bottom half of the table, and only a stoppage-time penalty save from Bernd Leno prevented this match from having a very nervy finish. As the German plunged to palm away, the roar from the Arsenal bench was loud enough to fool you into thinking a group of Arsenal fans had snuck back into the stadium. Arteta and his staff knew the significance of that moment.

It means Arsenal can focus on the green shoots of recovery. Smith Rowe was not the only young attacker to shine — on the wings, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were also excellent. Martinelli was also making his first Premier League start of the season. The impact this 19-year-old has made since returning from injury is remarkable, and a testament to the diligence and commitment he showed during rehabilitation. Staff at London Colney have been thoroughly impressed by his attitude and application. Martinelli has movement, speed and a willingness to defend from the front — in his time on the field, no Arsenal player made more tackles.

The Brazilian exchanged wings with Saka — the youngest of the trio, yet already the most experienced. He felt like the orchestrator of this attack. No player passed more accurately in the opponents’ half than Saka (84.2 per cent). Speaking after the game, he cheekily insisted Arsenal’s third goal was the consequence of a perfectly-placed shot rather than mishit cross. The glance he gave towards the six-yard box might suggest otherwise, but Saka earned his luck with sheer hard work. According to Opta, the 19-year-old covered the most distance of any player on the field (11.5 km).

The young players’ efforts were supported by strong performances from experienced players like Hector Bellerin and Granit Xhaka, but it was the effervescence and energy of the fresher faces that breathed life into this team.

One wonders if this youthful trio would have been out there had the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian been fit to start. When Smith Rowe was named on the teamsheet at Goodison Park a year ago, it was for caretaker Freddie Ljungberg’s final game in charge. The Swede picked a team packed with young players, in what felt like a pointed statement about Arsenal’s senior players.

Perhaps that opportunity came too early for some, but 12 months on these young players deserve persistence. If Arsenal’s domestic goals are beyond them, they could do worse than ensure Smith Rowe, Martinelli and Saka get the game-time they need to continue developing. Against Chelsea, it was the youngsters who led the charge. For all the talk of recalling Ozil to the Premier League squad, Arsenal would surely be better served by dedicating that game time to a player who has a chance of being in north London beyond the end of this season. Ozil almost certainly belongs to the past; Smith Rowe might be part of the future.

[Vesper 28,772]

Curtis Jones: What comes after the breakthrough?

https://theathletic.com/2272449/2020/12/27/curtis-jones-liverpool-future-carrragher/

In 2020, Curtis Jones has achieved what appeared to be the impossible for any teenager: establishing himself in a Liverpool team considered to be one for the ages.

His year began with a spectacular match-winning goal against Everton in the FA Cup. He then scored and captained the youngest Liverpool side ever in the next round against Shrewsbury Town.

There was a first Premier League goal against Aston Villa, a long-term contract and a new, far lower, shirt number. He has since scored the winner against Ajax in the Champions League and was many observers’ man of the match in the victory over Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.

There is a quiet belief among those who have followed his brief professional career that he could squeeze himself into England’s squad of 23 for the European Championship in the summer.

Next month, he turns 20. Gradually, the expectation will increase.

The Athletic has spoken to three former Liverpool players who, up to this point, have had similar experiences to Jones. They emerged from the youth system before making strides in the club’s first team and are best placed to explain how his challenge now changes.

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Jamie Carragher — breakthrough year: 1996

He ranks second on Liverpool’s all-time appearance list but Jamie Carragher was not viewed as a superstar from the moment he started representing their first team in his teens.

“I was different from Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard: attacking players capable of producing spectacular moments. My notoriety was built over time. It was a slow progression,” he tells The Athletic. “You see yourself being written and spoken about in the press. You earn more money and then, suddenly, you’re in the team regularly and more people are talking about you.

“Curtis is a really talented player and a lot more creative than me but our experiences have been similar because he’s been knocking about with the first team for a while now. Let’s not forget, he’s played quite a few games and scored some important goals already. The winner against Everton in the FA Cup at the start of the year was spectacular but it happened in a game where lots of kids were playing, so he was viewed as ‘king of the kids’.

“Spurs was different. It was a really big game between two top-of-the-table teams and the best players available all played. The whole country was watching. The outcome didn’t just affect the mood on Merseyside. The hours and days after will have been different because his name was all over social media. It was the first time his name was on lots and lots of people’s lips. His phone will have exploded.

“I spoke about him before the Fulham game (three days earlier). Nationally, a lot of people think, ‘Curtis Jones is playing — someone else must be injured’. You’d have that view if you didn’t really know what is going on at the club. If you watch Liverpool when he plays, it doesn’t feel as if someone else is missing. He’s one of Liverpool’s midfield players now.”

Carragher says Liverpool are one of the most rewarding clubs to play for in the good times but the associated challenges, particularly when results are not so good, are enormous.

“People always say that local lads are the first ones to get criticism but you could look at it another way: foreign players who come in for big money might think the local players get an easier time,” he says. “I tend to think on-the-pitch success takes care of itself because, ultimately, you are in control of yourself but off the pitch, it’s a bit different. You have two huge clubs living side by side. There’s a fierce rivalry. And the city itself is only small. By nature, it’s an intense city and this translates into the football culture. If you ever go out for a meal, everybody knows about it.

“I think players now are completely different in how they look after themselves. They’re wiser around alcohol and socialising. If you go out and have a drink, more often than not, someone somewhere will do something stupid, thinking it’s just a laugh. Footballers now rarely put themselves in those situations. They’re a lot more sensible and make less mistakes. It happened to me, Stevie and Robbie. Ross Barkley as well.”

Jones’ entry point to the first team is significant because he arrives at a moment in Liverpool’s history where the expectations are already being met by results on the pitch. It wasn’t quite that way for Carragher, when Liverpool were getting close but not close enough.

“Curtis is still viewed as a young player and the hopes and dreams of the supporters don’t rest on his shoulders at the moment. That will come when he’s viewed as one of the leaders in the team. It will be the same for Trent Alexander-Arnold, when they are seen as the players who have got to produce for Liverpool to do well. Currently, that responsibility rests with Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane.

“Supporters, especially at Liverpool, want to see themselves on the pitch. You’ve got to give 100 per cent. But Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world, so you want to see quality as well. You’ve got to be seen doing everything for the team and the club — never shirking anything.

“Also, you can’t afford to get big-headed or show that you fancy yourself. That was always in my mind. Every time I did an interview or spoke publicly, I didn’t want people to think I’d changed or I was full of myself. I was always conscious of that. I still am. I know I’m pretty normal because I’ve made mistakes. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I was putting on an act to show them I’m normal.

“The big challenge with being a footballer is you are expected to act more maturely than perhaps you naturally are. You retire at 35 and a 28-year-old footballer is seen as really experienced, someone who’s a real man and knows everything about the game. But if you saw a 28-year-old lad in the pub, you’d still think he was quite young. The period between 20 and 35 is probably the period where the average person makes the most mistakes. Footballers, though, master their craft really early and become famous very quickly, so they’re judged by different standards. We look at footballers and forget how young they are.”

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Jay Spearing — breakthrough year: 2009

Carragher and Gerrard were in their primes when Jay Spearing attempted to break into the starting XI.

“LFC TV had launched in 2007, just after we’d won the FA Youth Cup for the second time, so there was lots of interest in the junior players,” Spearing remembers. “We then went on to win the reserve league in a period where there was lots of interest in the next local lad coming through because the club had been through a process of signing a lot of foreign players. There was a belief that a few of the lads could come through and make an impact.”

In the late 2000s, social media was not as prevalent in everyday life as it is now. Twitter was in its infancy and Instagram didn’t exist until 2010. The hope that the next Gerrard or the next Carragher would emerge had its positives and its negatives. Spearing says: “I felt backed rather than pressurised. It might be different for other players but the desperation for local lads to make it meant I was allowed to make a few mistakes but I’d still get the support of the crowd. This gave me more of a licence to express myself.”

It would be an exaggeration to suggest that Spearing was expected to succeed Gerrard but he was the midfielder every other young local kid playing that position was judged against.

“There will never be another Stevie and I accepted that from day one, so I tried to be myself,” Spearing says. “I learned that whatever happens, people will have an opinion. You’ve just got to put it to one side and focus on what you can control and that is the way you train and the way you play. The only person you really need to impress is the manager.

“There was a huge amount of expectation on the central midfielders at Liverpool but I think Jurgen Klopp has changed that because players in that area are now workers rather than the main creators or goalscorers. This might help Curtis because, first and foremost, he’s expected to work hard for the team and that is what all supporters want to see. If you show a passion for the team and an understanding of the city, you win people over.”

Spearing had a long-term girlfriend and he became a young father. He also had the support of his own dad, who worked on the toll at the mouth of the Mersey tunnels. After featuring in the club’s famous 4-0 victory at Anfield over Real Madrid in 2009, Spearing did not become a first-team regular for another couple of seasons but suddenly, doors were opening to him that he didn’t even know existed. He would play 55 times for Liverpool before being loaned to Bolton Wanderers in 2012, with a permanent transfer arriving the following summer.

“All sorts of commercial deals come your way and it’s easy for your head to turn, but you’ve got to treat everything with a pinch of salt and remember that training comes first,” he says. “It must be really exciting for Curtis. Where else in the world would any young player want to play at the moment? There’s no better club for him to learn his trade. He’s got to enjoy it while also grasping the opportunity. Football can change in an instant.”

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Adam Morgan — breakthrough year: 2012

“I’d broken goal records in Liverpool’s youth sides and represented England, but everything changes when you score for the first team — even if it is in a friendly,” Adam Morgan says. “In 2012, we played (MLS club) Toronto on a pre-season tour. It was Brendan Rodgers’ first game in charge, so a lot of people were paying attention. It was a friendly, but I didn’t treat it as a friendly. It was my World Cup final. I was so emotional when the goal went in, I’m surprised I didn’t take my shirt off in the celebrations or do a somersault. It’s mad how the high the highs in football really are.

“When the game was finished, I checked my phone. My name was trending on Twitter and in the space of an hour, the number of followers on my account had trebled from around 20,000 to 60,000. All I could think of is, ‘Wow — this is crazy’.

“I didn’t consider myself a first-team player but my confidence went up again when we arrived back at John Lennon Airport at the end of the tour and Liverpool’s player liaison officer Ray Haughan asked to keep hold of my passport because I was going to be involved in the squad for a Europa League tie in Belarus against Gomel.

“I’m 26 now but I was 18 then and, looking back, I wasn’t prepared for everything that came with playing for Liverpool. I was a Jack the Lad but I never considered myself to be malicious and people who know me best would agree, I think. From the moment you represent Liverpool’s first team for the first time, the eyes of the world are on you and you’re expected to behave perfectly, though.

“You can’t sneeze the wrong way without someone forming an impression of you. Everyone seems to be waiting to capture the moment that proves you’ve lost your humility. I found the environment a challenge because it’s in my nature to ease any tension in a room by cracking a joke or saying what I really think.

“I had a lot of support from the academy staff. The education and welfare department was led by Phil Roscoe. I always felt as though I could speak to Clive Cook (former education and welfare officer) and Alan Redmond (former language tutor) as well. Yet I think my generation was the last where players tended not to speak honestly about their anxieties and fears. The culture in football has changed a lot since. I wish I’d been a lot more open with people I knew I could trust.

“Between the ages of 15 and 18, I’d always worn Adidas boots but after playing for Liverpool, I had new offers and I went with New Balance. Suddenly, lots of brands and new friends want to be associated with you. If you want to go out for a meal, you don’t need to turn up at a restaurant with a reservation. If you want the latest iPhone, someone will have it with you inside a few hours. If you want to buy a watch for your girlfriend from DM Robinson’s in Liverpool city centre, it can happen. It’s very difficult to seem humble when you’re inundated with offers because everybody wants to be associated with success, even if, in reality, the success is quite modest.

“I look back now and think that people are nicer and more genuine when you haven’t yet made the grade. It’s better to be on the brink of something. If people see you doing something they can’t do, sometimes they don’t like it. You become a target for attention, both good and bad, but a lot of it is unhealthy and it needs to be managed somehow.

“I would read a lot of stuff that was said and written about Raheem Sterling, who was one of my team-mates, and it didn’t bear any resemblance to the real person. I can relate to some of his frustrations because a rumour started that he was dating this girl and that girl, when it simply wasn’t true.

“I had a girlfriend around the time I broke into Liverpool’s first team and a rumour on social media went around that I was also in a relationship with a girl who worked at the LFC shop in Liverpool city centre. I’m not sure how it all started but I think it was because we were seen in the same bar one night. I ended up walking into the shop and asked her what was going on, and it was clear to me that she was not involved in it. Someone put two and two together and came up with 22. If you heard that story, you’d probably thought I was a bad lad.”

Morgan played three senior games for Liverpool but was out on loan less than six months after his favourite night in Toronto. He made a permanent switch to Yeovil Town in January 2014 and now plays for Chelmsford United in the National League South, having relocated to Essex last year.

“I was back home for Wolves (the 4-0 win at the start of December) and I went out for a meal on Smithdown Road to watch the game. I think I got asked about 20 times why it didn’t work out for me at Liverpool and it reminded me of one of the reasons why I decided to leave for another part of the country. I couldn’t deal with the questions any more. In Essex, nobody remembers me, so they don’t ask.”

[Vesper 28,772]

The secret ‘merit table’ that selects referees for your team’s matches

https://theathletic.com/2268098/2020/12/27/merit-table-referees-premier/

It is usually 4pm on a Monday when the email arrives. Each week, the notification tends to come through at the same time, informing the referees which match they will be covering the next weekend. And the people in charge of this process have realised over time that it is impossible to keep everybody happy.

Nuno Espirito Santo, for one, judging by his withering assessment of Lee Mason’s competence last Monday and, in what felt like a direct plea from the Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach, his verdict that, “I just don’t want to see him anymore.”

The refereeing authorities took one call recently from Steve Cooper, manager of Swansea City, to object to Andy Woolmer’s appointment for their Championship game against Sheffield Wednesday on November 25.

Cooper did not trust the Northamptonshire official – and wanted to put it on record that he was not happy about the former postman being in charge of his team.

A few days later, Woolmer disallowed what looked like a legitimate winner for Swansea in stoppage time. “One thing for sure, whatever the decision was, it was not going to us,” Cooper said. “It’s personal, unfortunately. It was a performance I predicted from the official and one that I spoke to the governing body about a few days ago. My prediction was right.”

Note the key word there: personal. A manager cannot make that kind of allegation without risking punishment. Cooper had gone too far with his criticisms and was fined £3,500 for questioning the integrity of a match official.

No doubt, though, there are a lot of other people in football who do not want to be persuaded that the system is fair. Managers, players and, of course, supporters. Ever wondered why one of your least favourite referees is covering your team? Or how the authorities choose which referees cover which matches?

What you might not realise is the level of planning that goes into the selection process and the complex system that has been in place by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organisation led by referees’ chief Mike Riley, to start making appointments six weeks in advance.

It involves Riley and his colleagues keeping a league table – or “merit table,” as they call it – to identify the officials who can be trusted, and those who perhaps cannot, for the top-of-the-table clashes, the big derby matches or the relegation six-pointers.

That table – which is kept top-secret by PGMOL bosses – is based on an elaborate points system that takes into account every single decision a referee ever makes.

The referees have password access to see where they rank in the table after every round of fixtures. It is the same for assistant referees, too. They know whether they have gone up or down a few places. They are acutely aware of whether they are challenging for the top or languishing near the bottom. And there is even an appeals process – again, with an emphasis on confidentiality – if they disagree with how any decision has been marked.

It is, in short, a lot more complicated than perhaps you might imagine.

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Howard Webb has never forgotten the build-up of tension waiting to find out where he was going next.

Sometimes it would be delayed until Tuesday lunchtime if there was a Monday night fixture. Usually, though, it was the same slot – Monday, 4pm – every week.

Webb recalls in his autobiography the fierce competition that existed between the referees in the Premier League’s Select Group. Too fierce, at times, bearing in mind the team-building expedition to the Lake District when Graham Poll and Mark Halsey squared up to one another. Or the personality clashes between the “Red Wine Club” – namely Poll and a group of largely southern-based colleagues – and another faction led by Jeff Winter, Halsey and various others.

“I’d be restless and agitated for most of the day,” Webb says of the Monday routine. “Within each round of games, there would inevitably be one fixture I fancied and one I dreaded. Once I heard the message ping, I’d anxiously scroll down the attachment, my subsequent shout of ‘Yes!’, ‘No!’ or ‘Shit!’ being an indication of how happy, cross or uneasy I felt about my allocated game.”

Today’s match officials are the same. “You know what time they are coming out,” assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis told the Outside The Box podcast recently. “You’ve literally got your phone out. ‘Where am I? Where am I?’ It’s excitement every week.”

Webb refereed the 2010 World Cup final but knew when the PGMOL had lost trust in him because he stopped being awarded the matches for which he was once the first-choice pick. His last fixture was Hull City vs Everton in May 2014. It was the fourth time he had covered Hull since the turn of the year and, in that time, he had refereed only two Premier League games featuring teams who finished in the top four. Monday, 4pm, had become a personal ordeal.

The clubs are informed at the same time as the referees and if you are wondering why Michael Oliver is now one of the go-to choices for the big assignments – the latest being Arsenal vs Chelsea yesterday – it is because he is one of the consistent pace-setters in the merit table.

Anthony Taylor, we can also assume, must be scoring high marks, bearing in mind he will referee Chelsea’s match against Manchester City next Sunday (the festive schedule is always decided early).

But then there are the referees who are not yet deemed ready for the big matches – or the ones who have been around a long time but always tend to be overlooked for the top games.

How does Stuart Attwell (below) feel after two spells, incorporating 11 seasons, as a whistle-blower in the Premier League that he has never been assigned a Merseyside, Manchester or north London derby?

Mason has been on the Select Group even longer, since 2006, which immediately tells us that the PGMOL does not agree with Nuno’s assessment of the Bolton-based referee. It is true, however, that Mason tends to be assigned matches – Burnley versus Wolves, for example – that indicate he is not particularly near the top of the merit table.

As for the other Premier League referee who has been in the news this week, what does it say for Graham Scott that he was set to be demoted from the Select Group at the end of the 2016-17 season? Scott fought the decision, won an appeal and took charge of Newcastle United’s 1-1 draw against Fulham last Saturday. He was the referee, in other words, who awarded Newcastle a penalty after an alleged dive from Callum Wilson and, to make matters worse for Fulham, sent off their defender Joachim Andersen in the process. The red card was overturned on appeal and what a shame, Fulham’s supporters might say, that there is no way to find out how the PGMOL assessed Scott’s performance at St James’ Park.

Those assessments take place in two stages. First, a match delegate – a former player or manager – will put together a report on the referee’s performance.

The more technical process, however, takes place afterwards when the PGMOL’s evaluators receive the match footage and go through every decision. And here’s the thing: this does not just take in the incidents where the referee penalises someone, but every single time a decision is taken about whether or not to blow their whistle.

That is a lengthy process, bearing in mind a top-flight referee will typically make around 250 of those decisions per match. For assistant referees, it is usually 50 to 100. Points are awarded, or deducted, for each one and the tariff is based on three categories – whether it was “easy”, “difficult” or “non-routine” – as well as taking into account where each incident occurred on the pitch. More points are awarded for a correct free kick decision just outside the penalty area (ie, a scoring chance) than one on the halfway line. If it is a particularly difficult decision, there are higher marks. Alternatively, extra points are wiped off for a mistake that directly influences the game.

But then it gets even more complicated. Within 24 hours, the referees receive the full evaluation and can appeal if they think any decision has been marked unfairly. Even if it is an ultimately meaningless free kick, it can go to a specially convened three-person panel to decide through an online process whether points should be added or taken away. That decision is final.

It all goes towards the merit table. And even then, there are plenty of other considerations for the PGMOL to take into account before the in-form referees can be assigned the plum appointments.

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Perhaps you can remember the fuss four ago when Anthony Taylor was assigned the first Liverpool-Manchester United match (below) of his refereeing career.

Taylor was brought up in Wythenshawe, which is on the southern edge of Manchester, and Keith Hackett, formerly the PGMOL chief, described it as “grossly unfair” to award him such a match.

Riley maintained it was the right appointment and Liverpool took the view that, just because Taylor lived closer to Old Trafford than any of Sir Alex Ferguson, Ed Woodward or Wayne Rooney, it did not necessarily mean he was a secret United fan who would award all the key decisions in their favour.

Taylor describes himself as a fan of non-League Altrincham and that now seems to be generally accepted, judging by the lack of attention to his Mancunian roots when he refereed Leeds United’s 6-2 defeat at Old Trafford last weekend.

Nor did it seem to matter that the referee for the Manchester derby two weeks ago also grew up with 0161 as his phone area code.

Chris Kavanagh was raised in Ashton-under-Lyne, another suburb of Manchester, but has assured his bosses that he, like Taylor, is not a supporter of United or City. Kavanagh calls himself a fan of Droylsden, and there are plenty of people at that non-League club who can verify his attendance at matches, going back to when he was a boy and his grandfather used to take him there.

Michael Oliver, on the other hand, is not allowed to referee Newcastle United, because they are the team he supports. Nor will you ever see him taking charge of a Sunderland game. “Just imagine the reaction if a Geordie awarded a debatable last-minute penalty against Sunderland,” says one leading official.

This is why every referee has to declare where they live, who they support and any other relevant details for the appointments panel – made up of Riley, ex-linesman Adam Gale-Watts and former referees Alan Wiley, Mike Jones and Neale Barry – to factor into the selection process.

Interestingly, one Premier League manager has told the authorities he trusts the PGMOL’s referees so much he would have no issue if his team played at Newcastle and Oliver was in charge. But it will never happen, just as Mark Clattenburg, another Newcastle fan, was never allowed to officiate at St James’ Park.

Jon Moss, a Sunderland fan, is kept off Newcastle matches for the same reason. Moss is allowed to referee Liverpool, however, even though he was once James Milner’s primary school PE teacher. A line has to be drawn somewhere and Moss could hardly be accused of favouritism, given that he sent Milner off in a Liverpool vs Crystal Palace game two seasons ago.

Within the PGMOL, it has been noted that there are countless examples of referees from London taking charge of matches in the capital without it being deemed a big issue.

At other times, unexpected issues crop up.

When Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur were competing for the title towards the end of the 2015-16 season, Kevin Friend was removed from a Spurs match to spare him from potential allegations of bias. Friend was affiliated to the Leicestershire And Rutland FA, lived near Leicester and would sometimes watch games at their King Power Stadium. He is actually a Bristol City fan, having been born there, but it was still deemed too sensitive for him to referee Leicester’s direct rivals in the title race.

The nature of the business throws up other issues. Referees can pick up injuries. COVID-19 has caused numerous problems. Nor does it make it any easier that UEFA sometimes appoint referees for European assignments with only a few days’ notice. A referee who has jetted off to some far-flung place for a Thursday-night Europa League tie, often with no direct flights back to the UK, cannot be expected to officiate a Saturday 12.30pm kick-off in the Premier League.

All of which helps to explain why the PGMOL’s planning meetings, looking six weeks ahead, can last upwards of three hours. Then there are follow-up meetings every Monday to go over what has happened at the weekend and, if necessary, make last-minute changes.

David Coote, for instance, was the VAR who decided Jordan Pickford’s challenge on Virgil van Dijk (below) during the Merseyside derby in October did not warrant a red-card check. Coote has already been removed from one Liverpool match and, with so much sensitivity about that incident, it might be a while before he is appointed to referee a game at Anfield.

Riley has to make decisions on a human level, too, when the referees are working in a highly competitive environment – and that rivalry is not discouraged by the PGMOL.

The referees who are relatively new to the Select Group are encouraged to believe they can eventually land the biggest matches. Andy Madley, for example, is regarded as one who can reach that level.

Riley will sometimes give a referee a weekend off if there has been a lot of media criticism. At other times, he will deliberately give an under-fire referee another match straight away, depending on what he thinks is best for the individual. And in exceptional circumstances, there have to be tough decisions based on a common-sense approach.

Clattenburg went six years without being selected for a game at Goodison Park because of the fallout from a Merseyside derby in 2007 in which he sent off two Everton players and made several other calls in Liverpool’s favour.

The same official was also kept off matches at Chelsea for six months after Mikel John Obi accused him, falsely, of making racist remarks during a game against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in 2012. Clattenburg had done nothing wrong but the PGMOL took the view that it might be better for everybody if there was a cooling-off period.

Moss knows about this, too. He went 20 months without a game at Leicester after they complained about his performance, featuring a red card to Jamie Vardy for diving, during a 2-2 draw with West Ham in their title-winning season. And never under-estimate the power of Sir Alex Ferguson’s voice during his many years as a fervent student of refereeing demonology. Martin Atkinson, one of the Premier League’s highest-ranked officials, had one eight-month spell without a game at Old Trafford, and another lasting a year, after various controversies involving Ferguson’s teams.

Riley and his colleagues are currently looking at February’s rota and that is a long, detailed process when it does not just involve selecting every Premier League referee, assistant referee, fourth official, VAR and assistant VAR – if possible, the authorities like to keep the same teams of referees and assistant referees together – but also making appointments for every EFL, National League and Premier League 2 (under-23s) fixture.

The same organisation also looks after the Carabao Cup, as well as helping with FA Cup selections, and the general rule is that the same officials should not referee the same teams within at least three weeks. It is a rolling process. And it all comes back to Monday, 4pm.

“Refereeing is a very cut-throat business,” Jeff Winter once said. “A player can play in a cup final on the left or right of midfield. There’s only one position for a referee.”

[Vesper 28,772]

Jimmy Greaves finally set to net gong in New Year’s honours – to complete 1966 squad

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/13579367/football-legend-jimmy-greaves-mbe-tottenham-england/

FOOTBALL great Jimmy Greaves is finally set to be given a gong in the New Year’s honours.

The record-breaking striker and former TV host, 80, will be made an MBE along with fellow 1966 World Cup squad member Ron Flowers, 86.

[Vesper 28,772]

Manchester United’s faulty defence is undermining electric attack

https://theathletic.com/2285222/2020/12/27/manchester-united-defence/

A draw away to a team second in the table is usually welcomed warmly, even by sides aiming for silverware, but the way Bruno Fernandes left the pitch at the King Power Stadium told the truth of Manchester United’s Boxing Day result.

Fernandes flung his arm into the air at the final whistle and walked straight off the pitch, chuntering to himself the whole way. Acknowledgements with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Brendan Rodgers only momentarily halted his march down the tunnel.

Fernandes knew his team had let slip a victory that would have added authenticity to suggestions United are best positioned to provide a challenge to Liverpool in this season’s title race. Instead, United conceded five minutes before the end to provide a dawning realisation that such talk is premature.

Quite obviously, no team can keep conceding two goals per game and be considered contenders; not even one creating as much as they are at present.

Leicester City joined Leeds United, Sheffield United, Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion in scoring twice against Solskjaer’s side this campaign. Crystal Palace got three and Tottenham Hotspur doubled that.

United have conceded two or more goals in seven league games, which is only three games shy of last season’s total for the entire campaign (when they conceded two or more goals in 10 league games) and more already than in 11 previous campaigns in the Premier League.

In specific games when United play conservatively, such as against Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, the defence has been solid, but there still needs to be work done on the calibration for those games when the handbrake is off.

Only Leeds, West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United, Newcastle United and Palace have conceded more than United’s 23 goals and though the Tottenham result skews that to a degree, there is an underlying issue. United’s attack is flowing wonderfully — and only Liverpool have scored more (36 to United and Chelsea’s 30) — but teams cannot win titles with one of the worst defences in the divisions.

In the last three seasons, the top two finishers in the league have also had the top two defensive records. Chelsea were champions with the third-best defence in the 2016-17 season.

United won the title in 2012-13 despite conceding 43 goals (Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton conceded fewer that season) but the highest in the years since was Manchester City’s total of 37 (second-fewest) in 2013-14. At United’s current rate, they would concede 62 goals by the time all 38 games are played.

Both of Leicester’s goals were preventable. For the first, Fernandes was guilty of trying to be too adventurous in a dangerous part of the pitch, Harvey Barnes was allowed too much space to shoot and David de Gea was too slow to dive.

For the second, a miscommunication by Fred and Paul Pogba left Ayoze Perez free and though Solskjaer praised Jamie Vardy’s movement, allowing a player of his calibre room eight yards out is fatal — even if the finish did require an inadvertent deflection off Axel Tuanzebe.

“The pressure on the ball for the first one wasn’t good enough,” said Solskjaer. “Second one, could have stopped the cross maybe. When you score as often as we do, you have to accept you open up at times. You would rather win 3-2 than draw 0-0.”

That last line is fair and the Fernandes error was a case in point; he was trying to start a counter that could have led to a chance.

But United are also guilty of elementary issues, collectively and individually. Three times, mistakes have led to goals this season, a figure only behind Chelsea (six). David McGoldrick’s goal at Bramall Lane was a recent example and there was an echo at Leicester. Harry Maguire again passed back to invite unnecessary pressure and De Gea hurriedly — and unconvincingly — scooped into the path of Marc Albrighton. United scrambled to recover from conceding on that occasion.

Teams are targeting United’s attempts to pass out from the back and more care is required. Clearing lines does not have to be treated as a last resort.

Scrutinising United’s defence may sound critical for a team with 20 points from eight games since last suffering defeat in the Premier League but it is a reflection of the rising expectations Solskjaer is producing. United are nine points better off after 14 games of this season than last. They are also 18 points closer to the league leaders.

But this could have been a statement win to really get near to Liverpool. When Leicester unexpectedly won the title in 2015-16, they won at Manchester City in February. That is the kind of result this United team needs and so, in that light, this was a missed opportunity.

[Vesper 28,772]

Leicester’s big challenge: How to cope when Vardy and Tielemans are rested

https://theathletic.com/2285274/2020/12/27/leicester-vardy-tielemans/

Jamie Vardy’s importance to Leicester City and Brendan Rodgers is undeniable.

Vardy has scored 13 goals this season in all competitions — 11 of them in the Premier League — and has found the net 43 times in 59 league appearances since Rodgers took over in February last year.

In that time, Vardy has only missed four Premier League games for a manager who has built his team around the 33-year-old and devised a game plan designed to bring the best out of him.

Integral to that game plan is Youri Tielemans, the Belgium international Rodgers refers to as his coach on the pitch. He may be 10 years younger than Vardy but, with more than 300 senior club games under his belt, Tielemans plays a key role.

Along with James Justin and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, Tielemans has played every minute of every league game this season.

Vardy himself has only missed 161 minutes of 1,350 across the 15 matches, despite Rodgers looking to protect his prize asset to preserve his potency, but the manager says he is not afraid to leave out his talisman as Leicester face a second game in little more than two days at Crystal Palace on Monday afternoon.

When asked if he could afford to rest Tielemans or Vardy, Rodgers’ reply was instant. Before the question mark could even be applied to the end of the query, he shot back: “Yes! I don’t want to risk an injury. With 48 and a half hours between the games, with the season we have had as well, I am not prepared to risk them missing six to eight weeks with an injury.

“We will make changes, because the players’ health is the most important. Take away the result. I will always pick a team I think can get a result and if that means changing players, we will do that.”

Rodgers’ conviction may be partly down to how well his side coped with a similar scenario last Christmas.

After the 4-0 Boxing Day battering by Liverpool, Rodgers made nine changes for a trip to West Ham United. Only Schmeichel, who will start at Selhurst Park tomorrow, and Jonny Evans retained their places and Vardy was left out of the match-day 18 entirely as Kelechi Iheanacho stepped in, scoring the first goal in a 2-1 win.

In fact, Leicester under Rodgers have won two and lost two of the four games they have played without Vardy, scoring five goals at an average of 1.3 from 15 shots per game. The win percentage with Vardy in the team (from 59 games) is slightly over 50 per cent, with a team average of 1.8 goals from 13.4 shots on goal per game. Leicester score more goals from fewer shots with the Yorkshireman in the side, but they have shown they can cope, in the short term anyway, without him.

Iheanacho is again expected to replace Vardy as the focus of the attack against Palace, but Tielemans may be a different case.

His deeper role alongside Wilfred Ndidi, who is expected to swap with Nampalys Mendy on Monday, has meant fewer muscle-straining sprints this season. Also, Tielemans’ excellent game management makes it harder to leave him out.

Tielemans showed no signs of fatigue as he pulled the strings in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United on Boxing Day. “He is really authoritative,” Rodgers said after the game. “His aggression to press and make tackles, and then his movement to take the ball, play and pass the ball is exceptional.”

Rodgers does have options if he wants to rest Tielemans. Denis Praet and Hamza Choudhury were on the bench yesterday, along with Mendy, but neither has the attributes Tielemans provides, such as his ability to turn under pressure and pick forward passes, a skill he showed impressively against a United midfield that adopted an athletic press to try to catch Leicester in possession.

Tielemans, who was arguably the pick of the game’s midfielders, has become the launchpad for many of Leicester’s attacks by taking possession from the back four and spreading the play. Praet is a power player, box to box, and Choudhury is a more combative midfielder, but neither possesses the creative spark or vision of Tielemans, who possesses a defensive edge, too.

The 23-year-old Belgian has only been left out of one match-day squad this season (for the 4,000-mile round trip to Zorya Luhansk in the Europa League) and he has been on the bench only twice – he was an unused substitute in the Carabao Cup loss to Arsenal and came on at half-time as Leicester chased their Europa League group game in Braga.

Leicester moved into a new state-of-the-art £100 million training facility on Christmas Eve, a complex equipped with the latest in sports science and medical technology, and the new equipment will be put to good use in the next 24 hours to revive Rodgers’ men after their exertions against Manchester United.

Cryotherapy chambers, swimming recovery sessions and massages will be the order of the day, and Tielemans may well find himself the focal point of the sports science staff’s attentions. He is rapidly becoming as crucial to Leicester as Vardy is.

[Vesper 28,772]

Håland, Mbappe, Dolberg, Lukaku? Using data to find Aguero’s replacement

https://theathletic.com/2265544/2020/12/26/aguero-city-replacement-transfer-haaland-mbappe-lukaku-dolberg/

Next week, Sergio Aguero can agree a free transfer away from Manchester City if he wants to.

His contract expires in the summer and so far it is not clear whether he will be at the Etihad Stadium for the 2021-22 season. Even if he is, though, it’s clear City need to sign a striker capable of putting the ball in the net on a regular basis.

Having waited a year to replace Vincent Kompany and at least a year to replace David Silva, they surely cannot afford to wait so long to find Aguero’s successor.

But who will it be?

There are two obvious answers: Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. The problem is that they are the obvious answers for every elite club looking for a new striker, so it might be a good idea to compile a slightly longer list.

We can do so in the same way that we identified possible left-backs for City a few days ago — by using smarterscout and their FIFA-style ratings powered by real data and advanced analytics. Some clubs do use smarterscout as part of their recruitment process, and earlier this year The Athletic’s data and analytics expert Tom Worville used it to identify Kostas Tsimikas as a potential option at left-back for Liverpool, a few weeks before they signed him from Olympiakos.

As well as being used to give players ratings on various aspects of their game, it can run searches to identify players of similar styles, or even come up with a list of players based on certain criteria.

So, let’s try to find options to replace Aguero at City.

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First of all, let’s see if there are any players similar to the man himself.

We can search for ‘model seasons’, which allows us to find players who perform similarly to how Aguero did in 2016-17, 2017-18 and so on. There are four full seasons we can use for Aguero, and they provide different results, reflecting changes in the Argentinian’s game over time.

Given City usually sign players from the top leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain or Portugal, only players from those leagues are included in the results. We’ll also apply an age cap of 27.

There are a few strikers who match against Aguero’s different seasons.

Kasper Dolberg of French club Nice comes up every single time.

Lyon’s Moussa Dembele and Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan come up in three out of four searches (the three most recent) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauro Icardi comes up in two (the last two).

Other players include Schalke’s Benito Raman, Portugal-based duo Brayan Riascos (Nacional) and Bruno Duarte (Vitoria Guimaraes) and Udinese’s Kevin Lasagna. Carlos Vinicius, who signed for Spurs in the summer on loan from Benfica, is rated as similar to the 2019-20 Aguero, as is Eintracht Frankfurt’s AC Milan loanee Andre Silva.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, his City colleague Gabriel Jesus makes an appearance too.

 

The passing towards goal metric is defined as a pass that brings the ball at least 10 metres closer to the centre of the opponent’s goal, whereas link-up passing is any other pass.

The ratings for link-up passing, passing towards goal, dribbling, receiving in the box and shooting do not tell us how good a player is at them, but how often they do it in a match. Likewise, disrupting opposition moves and recovering a moving ball show how often a player does those things per minute out of possession.

What about Haaland and Mbappe?

After City drew 0-0 in the Manchester derby earlier this month, Match Of The Day pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer were asked which striker they would sign for Guardiola’s team, and both said Haaland or Mbappe.

Broadly, these two are good at the same things and bad at others (Haaland’s attacking output for Borussia Dortmund is alarmingly low, but his smarterscout rating this season in 75 out of 99).

A look at each player’s in-possession activity map gives us an idea of where they use the ball and how they use it.

For example, the larger blue/green towers on Aguero’s show the amount of short passes.

Aguero’s in-possession activity map, 2019-20

Haaland’s shows more long balls played from deeper positions (the yellow blocks), and more dribbles toward the right side of the pitch (purple blocks).

Haaland’s in-possession activity map, 2019-20

Mbappe’s is pretty different to both, clearly, with much of his work for PSG done towards the left side, despite his position being tracked as a central striker.

Mbappe’s in-possession activity map, 2019-20

We can also do a ‘smartersearch’ by toggling various characteristics to find players who would suit a certain style of football.

So when looking for players suitable for City, it’s a good idea to mark things like ball retention and link-up passing ‘very important’ in the search criteria, as Aguero and Jesus both rate higher than other similar players in this regard. It’s obviously a good idea to look for high attacking output, shooting and receiving in the box, too.

After applying the same filters as above (top leagues, age and recent performances) there are 58 different results, and the top five look like this.

It’s reassuring to see Jesus on the list, and to a lesser extent Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho, considering he used to play for Manchester City.

It’s fair to say that either of Haaland and Mbappe would be a dream signing for most City fans — but the same goes for any top club in Europe. Haaland’s buy-out clause doesn’t kick in until 2022, while it is believed Real Madrid are in pole position for Mbappe should he leave Paris.

The alternatives

Like with Aguero, we can look for players who compare to Haaland’s and Mbappe’s different seasons for their clubs.

Interestingly, Milan’s Silva features again, matching with both of Haaland’s seasons at Dortmund.

His activity map is fairly similar to Aguero’s and Jesus’s, although he is less involved in the play outside the box than either of them, which will have a lot to do with how City play.

Silva’s in-possession activity map, 2019-20

Jesus’ in-possession activity map, 2019-20

Icardi appears again as a match for the Norwegian’s performances so far this season, and while Aguero’s countryman seems to be a good fit for City on paper, a knee injury would probably scupper any chance of a move in the near future.

Manchester United’s Anthony Martial also features, as he does when looking for players similar to Mbappe, although for obvious reasons he can be ruled out as a potential signing for bitter local rivals City.

There are several players who are rated as similar to Mbappe, but apart from Haaland himself, most of them highlight the key trait that is overlooked by this model: they simply do not score enough goals and couldn’t be considered as an Aguero replacement. These include Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak and Karl Ekambi of Lyon.

Who’s suitable for City?

Comparing players to Jesus could be instructive here, because he has had enough seasons at City now and compares well enough to Aguero to help build something of a club-specific profile.

Players who are similar to both Jesus and Aguero should, in theory, be a good fit for City.

Interestingly, Lys Mousset, the Sheffield United striker, shows up among the results, and the 24-year-old Frenchman actually ranked as the sixth-best fit based on our earlier ‘smartersearch’.

Like some of those similar to Mbappe, though, he is unlikely to be considered.

A better match for City might be Inter’s Martinez, who not only matches three Aguero seasons, but Jesus’ two most recent full campaigns as well. He hit 14 goals in 35 Serie A appearances last season, has five in 13 so far this time and has long been linked with a move to the Etihad due to his physical similarities to countryman Aguero.

Maybe the city of Milan could provide Pep Guardiola’s next striker, even if it’s not Martinez.

Romelu Lukaku was recommended on the smartersearch and while that might raise a few eyebrows among the City fanbase, the former Manchester United striker has scored 11 in 12 in Serie A this season, after 23 in 36 in Italy’s top flight in his debut season for Inter a year ago.

The memes about the Belgium international’s first touch will do him no favours but smarterscout shows his ball retention, link-up passing and receiving in the box ratings have improved markedly this season.

It would obviously be a surprise if City were to bring him back to Manchester, but it’s an interesting thought.

The same goes for Silva, who made a big move to AC Milan from Porto in summer 2017 and is now on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he has scored nine goals in 12 Bundesliga games this season.

It’s a similar story for Dolberg, who matched all Aguero searches and one of three Jesus searches.

The 23-year-old was very highly-rated as he came through at Ajax, and he hit 11 goals in 23 Ligue 1 appearances in his 2019-20 Nice debut season following a €20.5 million move in the August. He has three in nine so far this season and his trajectory is worth keeping an eye on.

It may be a surprise to some of you to have read this far and not seen the words ‘Harry’ and ‘Kane’.

That is probably because although the Tottenham Hotspur striker has a 99 rating for his passing towards goal this season, Kane’s link-up passing gets a zero. That shows he is more involved in getting Spurs up the pitch, and not linking the play with short, sideways or backwards passes, and is something reflected in his smarterscout ratings throughout his career.

His receiving in the box rating is two this season, which gives an idea of where he has been doing a lot of his work.

A comparison of his and Aguero’s use of the ball should highlight a couple of differences.

Kane’s involvements outside the box are more varied and more scattered than Aguero’s (and we can also see how he has been asked to drop deeper and play more long balls for Spurs this season).

Kane’s in-possession activity map, 2019-20

The playmakers

There’s nothing wrong with doing a bit more work outside the box, though.

In the summer, City were looking for reinforcements up front and considering two profiles: a traditional No 9 and more of a false nine — an attacking midfielder with an eye for goal.

They enquired about Joao Felix at Atletico Madrid, but were told they would need to meet his buy-out clause, reported to be an eye-watering €350 million. City were big admirers of his when he was at previous club Benfica, so it would make sense to look at his smarterscout ratings.

Felix’s in-possession activity map, 2019-20

There aren’t any similar players likely to be under consideration for City, though — for example, Milan’s Ante Rebic and Raul de Tomas of Espanyol.

Interestingly, though, City have been linked with Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, who is similar to Isak and Ekambi, two of the players who came up in Mbappe searches. Nunez only signed for the Lisbon giants in the summer but that didn’t stop City when they bought Rodri just a year after he moved to Atletico Madrid from Villarreal.

Uruguayan Nunez, 21, has scored just once in the Portuguese league so far in nine appearances after hitting 16 goals in 32 in the Spanish second tier for Almeria last season.

He may be of interest but fans may want a more established track record, or simply a bigger name, when it comes to replacing Aguero at the Etihad. And as we have shown, there are a fair few who fit the bill.

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Fully expect Spurs to give Wolves a beating today and Wolves to lay down and have their bellies tickled.