Spain, Are You Scotland in Disguise???

Craig Williams from Spanishfootball.info with a insightful article on the state of the competition in La Liga.

Whilst the SuperCup sweeps most Spanish football observers into a frenzy with its offering of what lies ahead for us in the new football season, the whispers of discontent amongst many rear their heads again, the all-important question, Are you Scotland in disguise????

Although the Spanish league is widely regarded as being the best league in the world, certainly in terms of the style of football being played and the talent that graces her immaculate pitches, many feel it has the added attraction of competing to be the worst (in terms of competition). Even the most ardent supporter of the Spanish cause has to give a platform to these concerns, as, after all, they love the game as much as the rest of us.

At first we have the allocation of TV rights, which, in itself, offers stark viewing. Real Madrid and Barcelona both gain more than £140 million pounds in television money, whilst the likes of Athletic Bilbao receive around £17 million. Compare Sevilla’s £24 million stake, a team more often than not one finishing in the top five places, against that of Stoke, those stalwarts of the Premier League, whom receive £41 million per year.

Barcelona and Madrid enjoy the biggest proportion of the cake, a proportion that is only growing year by year, whilst the crumbs are left to be fought out by the other teams. As Sevilla chairman Del Nido put it recently, in response to the subject of TV money, “La Liga isn’t the Scottish League, it’s the s@&t league of Europe”.

Regarding Madrid and Barcelona, they play amazing football, they have the best players, they have the best (current) managers, everyone knows that. British bookmakers have them down as joint favourites for the Champions League, of which there is no doubt. But have they helped to maintain a fiction that others won’t accept? Are they too good or are the rest too bad?

As we lament the relegation and failure of teams to mount a campaign against the dominance of the two giants the pain really starts to set in. Gone are the days of ‘SuperDepor’, of Atletico winning the double, of Sociedad’s brief flirtation with Nihat and Kovacevic, of Benitez’s Valencia standing toe to toe with the big two. The mid to late 1990’s seem a world away from the present day.

It doesn’t offer much in the way of fun when the likes of former Hercules coach Esteban Vigo, after seeing his side being comfortably brushed aside 2-0 at the Bernabeu, advised in his post-match press conference that he was content with the performance. “Other teams ship 5/6 goals here” was his reply. Perhaps he was joking.

If we play the numbers game we come in for some interesting images. Only in the Turkish league was the difference between third and first more noticeable. Indeed there was only one League in Europe where with Madrid’s points tally you wouldn’t have finished first…Scotland. Also, Barca and Real Madrid offered 6 defeats between them last season, to Rangers and Celtic’s 9.

So how, if at all possible, can this dominance be frustrated. How can we win back those whom I have encountered by the barrel load, those who prefer to watch the Premier League or the Bundesliga, where the completion is more fruitful, the attendances are higher, the theatre and emotion are more in abundance. A fairer allocation of TV money would be a start, but by no means offers us the answers needed to try and redress the balance.

In an ideal world what we want is to change the new Scottish league back in to the Spanish league, as both teams continue to up the throttle and stretch further away from the rest. Before it’s too late, we need to try and stop this death by slow motion.

Yahoo! Fantasy Football is here!

Hello, all, this is Data Head, resident Yahoo! Fantasy Football (YFF) fanatic. For the better part of the year, I live and breathe this game in the same way some of you might enjoy the Beautiful Game. Not only are the two games (real and fantastical) complementary, but I would argue that participating in the fantasy game will enhance your appreciation of what transpires on the pitch week after week. Have you ever heard of Ernesto Galán, or Leonardo Ponzio? Well, until I started playing YFF Superliga, I certainly hadn't, but by the end of the season, the pair were like aces up my sleeves, racking up points at a low cost while allowing me to splurge elsewhere on star players such as Messi or Agüero. During broadcasts of the games, I not only knew the names of the players, but I knew the bench as well, which players were likely to be swapped for which later in the game, and, of course, who was most likely to perform (and earn my fantasy team points).

If YFF sounds intimidating, or if you think you have to be a seasoned veteran to enjoy the game, then consider this: I have a mere half a season under my belt. And my fellow YFF Superliga blogger, "Johnson" over at Fantasy Football: La Liga, has, from what I can tell, two. But make no mistake about it, we know Primera players like the backs of our hands. Fortunately for our readers, we enjoy sharing our knowledge and enthusiasm. So it is in this frame of mind that I now extend to you an invitation to play the game, and beyond that, to join a Blog League that unites my blog -- Fantasy Football Stats -- Johnson's blog, and this one.

Again, it is not as hard as you might think to join in. First, go to the YFF homepage:

http://uk.superliga.fantasysports.yahoo.com/football

Or, if you are a purist, a bilingual, or a native Spanish speaker, you can visit the YFF España homepage:

http://es.superliga.fantasysports.yahoo.com/football

They actually link to the same game, and you can toggle between any of thirteen languages at any time by clicking on the appropriate link at the bottom of the screen there.

Next, click on the yellow "Create a team" button. If you have a Yahoo! account, then signing up will be simple. Just accept the terms of service, come up with a team name, select your time zone, etc. (It's all right there on the same screen.) Then select your favorite team, which will place you in a larger "Fans of" group, and click "Continue." If everything looks all right to you, then click "Create Team," and your team will be registered. That's it! You are now ready to start exploring a truly enriching game.

But if you want to take your participation a bit further, to take the red pill, as it were, then I would encourage you to join the Blog League, where the private adventure begins (a members-only discussion board for chit-chat, words of counsel, or trash talk). Click "Join a Group."

[cue lightning]

You will be prompted to enter a Group ID# and Password. Your key to the exclusive group "YFF Stats - Superliga" is:

Group ID#: 272
Password: yffstats1

Now you will be in the company of your blog authors, one another, and other eager managers from different parts of the globe. If space runs out, or if the number of teams in the group hits 100, then I'll simply create another group and the process of filling the slots will start all over.

If you are not overwhelmed by all this pigeonholing, of joining a group within a group, then I would ask you to take one final step and join our head-to-head blog league, run in conjunction with YFF. To add an extra dimension to the game, I thought it would be fun to run a league just like the real Primera, with twenty teams to a division, based on YFF experience, in which each team would play the others twice over the course of the season. The points system would be the same (i.e. 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss), and would be based on weekly performance in terms of YFF points. There could be a Champions League, relegation zone, and everything.
But wait! Before I get too carried away, I almost forgot to tell you how to play. The rules, which I encourage you to read and reread, can be found here.
The CliffsNotes version is this: You must select eleven players in a valid formation within the allotted budget, then save your team. (You do all this within the "Team Manager" tab you will see upon logging in.) If you want tips, opinions, and analysis, that is where Johnson and I can help out. Again, his blog is Fantasy Football: La Liga, and mine is Fantasy Football Stats. As you can glean from the title of his blog, it deals exclusively with La Liga. Mine covers both the Primera and the English Premier League, with a microscopic view on YFF. (You may feel free to join the YFF EPL group as well.) In fact, each week before the deadline, I create a user-generated Blog Team based entirely on votes in a poll that I put up on my site. In this way, you can see players that other managers think represent good picks. In addition, you can ask questions in the chat room, leave a comment, etc. Our mission is to create a community, and for Johnson and me, our vehicle for promoting the Beautiful Game is decidedly Yahoo! Fantasy Football.

I hope to see you in the Blog League(s) soon! Many thanks to Elisa for allowing us to align the interests of the three blogs.

PS Yours truly Elisa will be playing this year as "Real Elisa" so get on board!!

Real Madrid & Barça ~ Back in the USA!

Here is a list of the friendlies taking place in the USA. No surprise, the two biggest clubs in Spain and the World will be returning to this side of the pond as part of the World Football Challenge. 3 games will be played by each team respectively. It's going to be a great summer.


Jose Mourinho loves Southern California for pre-season. Last year he came with Real Madrid, prior to that Inter Milan and Chelsea. I do love the fact that Real Madrid plays the local MLS teams, along with a "local" Mexican team (hahaha). Yours truly, Elisa will be attending the LA and SD games.


Saturday July 16 ~LA Galaxy v Real Madrid - World Football Challenge
Venue: Memorial Coliseum - Los Angeles CA


Wednesday July 20 ~ Real Madrid v Chivas Guadalajara - World Football Challenge
Venue: Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego CA

Saturday July 23 ~ Philadelphia Union v Real Madrid - World Football Challenge
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia PA


Barçelona likes to move around to different venues as part of their pre-season, but do tend to arrive at the same part of the year to the States. Who will have the majority of fans in Miami and Texas? Do you think that this friendly is a bit of a payback to Miami for the MLS team snafu?

Saturday July 30 ~ Barcelona v Manchester United - World Football Challenge
Venue: FedExField - Landover MD

Wednesday August 3 ~ Barcelona v Chivas Guadalajara - World Football Challenge
Venue: Sun Life Stadium - Miami FL

-Saturday August 6 ~ Barcelona v Club America - World Football Challenge
Venue: Cowboys Stadium - Arlington TX

Transfer Targets: Chelsea FC

After years of relatively tepid summer buying, unless you consider the talent binge that Manchester City have been on, this looks to be a slightly better than average transfer market, especially for the big clubs in England. While any other year the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool might look to find a hidden gem coming out of the relatively inexpensive French or German markets, maybe a darting winger or a stern defender playing in the Russian League, they might be for the first time looking at Spain for the same sort of deals. Spanish Primera clubs have never been more productive at developing young talent, the first-teams on down are brimming with domestic signings, but due to a perfect storm of circumstances, an ever-worsening economy and a highly unequal profit sharing scheme, the best players in Spain will leave sooner rather than later and England is looking more and more to be a financially stable destination, even if the weather leaves much to be desired.

Chelsea FC: you win a domestic double one year, league champions and repeating as FA Cup winners, you would think that Carlo Ancelotti would have been give a respite from the speculation that has effected Chelsea managers since well since the day that Roma Abramovich bought a debt riddled club and pulled them up into the upper echelons of European football clubs. With Carlo Ancelotti set to leave, more than likely to AS Roma where he captained the side in his playing days, the first order of business is set. Find a manager.

Manager: André Vilas-Boas is the hot choice. Jose Mourinho´s former assistant has done well winning the Europa League wit FC Porto and was seen as a perfect fit for the departing Ancelotti, but he has back-tracked and has stated his intention in staying and giving the Champions League a whirl. With a 15 million pound buy-out apparently, it would be prohibitive to release Vilas-Boas from his contract, if this were any team but Chelsea. Guus Hiddink would be an obvious choice, either as a temporary solution for a year or so, as a hand-picked successor became available (like Marco Van Basten or Frank Rijkaard), or in a longer-term deal. He has the pedigree and he´s worked for Abramovich, but is he ready at his age to return to the pressure cooker of top-flight club coaching? Floating the idea of Gianfranco Zola for a Chelsea return is laughable. He needs to prove himself before he can be handed the reigns of a big club. I think Hiddink takes his turn.

Striker: I know there is a huge impetus to sign Sergio Kun Agüero to bolster an attack that has been sputtering under Ancelotti but I think that would be a mistake. Agüero is young and a dangerous finisher but his skills duplicate those of a player they already have under contract: Fernando Torres. I know there is some bias with Torres, the Liverpool association and his lack of scoring over the last part of the season, but Chelsea supporters have not seen the best of Torres. This summer will include his first restful break since after the 2007-2008 season. Can he play alongside Kun? They did that already at Atlético Madrid, it didn´t work, plus Agüero has pledged to stay and win trophies at the Vicente Calderon. Just because his agents are putting his name in the papers does not mean that the player wants to leave.

Midfielder: Chelsea would be better served in getting a complementary player, one who could work in the space behind Torres and was an effective passer, like Gerrard or Xabi Alonso was for him at Liverpool. Kaká from Real Madrid? Too much of an investment for a part-time player. Same thing for Snejder. I like Javi Martinez out of Athletic Bilbao or Borja Valero from Villarreal.

Winger: Bringing Neymar out of Santos directly to England this early in the Brazilian player´s career and you risk stunting his growth. It´s another Robinho to Real Madrid situation writ all over again. It doesn´t make sense economically. I´d actually like to see what real, old-fashioned wingers like Diego Capel or Jesús Navas do in the Premier League again. I know they are both either too slight (in Navas´s case) or small (in Capel´s case) to be effective centrally or tracking back, but on an island up front on the wings they would make loads of space for Chelsea strikers, they are great in one-on-one situations and are pin-point crossers. I know, that´s a bit of a reach.


Again, this isn´t a collection of transfer rumors, nor is it real speculation about players who might end-up at Chelsea, just my own opinion about the sorts of players who I think would thrive at Stamford Bridge. Let us know what yours is.

Next up: Liverpool

Summer Exodus Abroad?

The Spanish Player's Union (AFE) recently announced that there were 300 unpaid players, the majority in Second division and that if nothing is going to change, a strike would be eminent the first week of the 2011-12 season.

The Spanish economy is not getting any better. Unemployment is at an all time high at 20%. The Euro continues to lose buying power. Spanish club indebtedness is at an all time high. Meanwhile, a potential labor strike is looming once again because teams are not paying their players timely, or at all.

Rumors continue to persist that a mass exodus of Spanish players abroad will occur this summer. Spaniards are quite versatile and very adaptable on the pitch as well as to other cultures. Players from all levels, from the stars to journeymen to canteranos and veterans are playing in England (Jose Enrique), Greece (David Fuster), Ukraine, Romania, Hong Kong, Turkey (Guiza) and the Middle East (Yeste). More are expected in Germany (Jurado), France (Azpilicueta), Italy (Victor Ruiz), Portugal (Javi Garcia), Holland, and Russia. Hey, even Sergio Koke, Malaga canterano, fresh from Aris in Greece, and still only 27, is playing in the MLS at Houston Dynamo!

But Spain are the World Champions, with the two biggest and best club teams in the world! Spain has arguably the best youth and coaching development in Europe. How could this happen?

Well, both players and coaches want a guaranteed paycheck and are attracted to the quality of life abroad. Many countries or cultures respect the privacy of players and coaches much more than in Spain, where the daily paper is big business. Some argue that cheaper South Americans and African players are squeezing out the journeymen. Whereas big name foreigners are also squeezing out the marquee players from the top teams in Spain. This is especially the case when only Real Madrid and Barcelona can afford you - see David Silva. More Spanish and ex La Liga coaches are moving abroad and making it easier to move. Ernesto Valverde and Manolo Jimenez are working in Greece, while Juande Ramos is plying his trade in the Ukraine. Bottom line with such a short sporting life, it makes career and family sense.

The perfect case in point is Schalke in the Bundesliga where you have the star veteran, Raul, journeyman, Jurado, and canterano from a smaller club who had little chance of 1st team Primera football, Sergio Escudero. I totally expect to see more and more transfers abroad this summer. But it just doesn't sit right with me. Frankly I am torn. Global experience is good for the game, coaches and players. But what ever happened to the best league in the world? Shouldn't the best league retain and promote their own players?

What do you think? Will this happen? Is this good or bad for Spanish football? I want to hear from you.

Forza Futbol 139: Andy Mitten

Andy Mitten from Yahoo-Eurosport

On today's episode of Forza Futbol we welcome back Andy Mitten, author of Mad for It amongst many other books. He covers Manchester United and La Liga for Yahoo-Eurosport, and joins us here for a chat about the Spanish League and about the European competitions, a comparison between La Liga and the EPL, and we talk about financial problems in Spain. Dare I say we cover relegation? Too much show I think.

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Can WAGs and team rankings provide reliable statistics?

Let me set one thing straight: I deal in stats -- cold, objective data. Anything you can think to track about a sport, I find interesting. I'm not talking about just the basics, such as how many passes were completed or who scored and assisted. I'm talking about the nitty-gritty, the kind of information you can't believe found its way onto paper. For example, Ronaldo hasn't scored (a goal) since his girlfriend, Irina Shayk, pictured more modestly here, landed the SI Swimsuit cover. Has his mind been too preoccupied for his body to perform on the pitch? I'll let you decide, but it certainly adds a story to the mix. And it's something that can be tracked.

Nothing delights me more than to think I have an original idea. I started a blog, Yahoo Fantasy Football Stats, because I couldn't find a site that covered the info I wanted. And with my passion for stats, I found ways to extract data from data sets, to highlight some arcane matter in hopes of finding perfection, that ever elusive correlation coefficient of 1.00. A stat I find unique to my site that has shown some fascinating patterns is team performance against other teams ranked whatever: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20. The implications of this one stat could influence casual fans, fantasy football managers, and gamblers alike.

Take Barcelona and their performance across the season. Now that their home winning steak is over, where are you supposed to turn for certainty, insofar as stats may be able to provide it? Would it surprise you to learn that Barca have won every match, home or away, against opposition not ranked 11-15? It's true, the three times they have slipped up this season, they've done so to teams ranked 11-15, losing at home to no. 14 Hercules in week 2, drawing at home to no. 11 Mallorca in week 6, and drawing away at no. 13 Sporting Gijon in week 23.

Coincidence, perhaps? Could be. But take a look at some other coincidences, if so:

- Athletic Bilbao have earned just 1 win but 6 losses against opponents ranked 1-5; 2 wins, 2 losses against those 6-10; 5 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses against those 11-15; and 4 wins and 1 draw against those 16-20. The results form a clear-cut pattern of wins, draws, and losses.
- Atlético Madrid are 0-1-5 (W-D-L) against opponents 1-5.
- Espanyol have lost all five matches against opponents 1-5, but have won all six against those 6-10.
- Mallorca buck the trend against opponents 1-5, with a fairly even and respectable 3-2-3 record. But against those 6-10, they're 0-0-4.
- Real Madrid remain perfect against one set of opponents, those ranked 6-10: 9-0-0.
- Real Sociedad against opponents 1-5: 0-0-5.
- Sporting Gijon have not won a match against the lowest-ranked set of opponents, 16-20, earning 3 draws and 1 loss. Against the next highest group, 11-15, they're 1-4-1. So why might Gijon be flirting with relegation? Answer: They can't put away teams in the bottom half of the table!

The same trends occur in the English Premier League, the other league I track. Some notable results:

- Arsenal appear to struggle with opponents ranked 6-10, with a pedestrian 2-3-3 record, but they look stellar against bottom dwellers, winning 8 and drawing 1, with 0 losses.
- Chelsea have earned just 1 win in four matches against opponents 11-15.
- Fulham have lost only one match all season to a team ranked 6-10, 11-15, or 16-20. In other words, they're rubbish against the top quarter of the table, with an 0-4-5 record.
- Liverpool have the opposite problem and have lost merely once to opponents 1-5 or 6-10. They struggle with the bottom bracket of teams, apparent again recently versus West Ham, with a 2-2-4 record.
- Man City have earned 22 of 24 points against opponents 6-10.
- Man U's record against top-five oppositions, in order: WDWDW. I'd say they're in for a draw against Chelsea. Any takers?
- Tottenham, like Liverpool, struggle with bottom teams -- they're 1-1-3. But against opponents 6-10, they're the bullies of the schoolyard: 7-2-0.
- West Brom have 0 wins in eight matches against opponents 16-20, with an 0-4-4 record. Their companions in misery, Wolverhampton Wanderers, have fared about as well against the same set of opponents, with an 0-3-3 record. Are these abysmal records foreboding, in terms of the teams' prospects of avoiding relegation?

Why don't professional sports journalists track these data, if they're so useful? My guess is that it has to do with the fluctuating nature of the rankings, and to be fair, I should point out that I base rank on how things stand prior to the first match of a game week. To the skeptics out there, I will say that it's true, sometimes a team's performance against a certain set of opponents yields a hodgepodge of results. Case in point: Deportivo's record against opponents 16-20 is 2 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses. But this only serves to illustrate the shortcomings of blind devotion to any one statistic. If Deportivo were coming up against a bottom-quarter team, how would I make a call? This is where other stats -- goal differential, home/away record of each team, last five results, and more -- come into consideration, providing a composite correlation that casts a metaphoric stone into one pan or the other . As a season plays out, the stats grow more reliable. Or at least, that's what any responsible stats-tracker goes for, picking up threads along the way and dropping others as they become less promising. For now, I'll let the jury be out on WAGs' influence on scoring (or defending), the impact of shooting a work-placement student, and the many other bizarre elements of football. One way or the other, you can be sure it won't stop me from taking note.

Spanish Armada in the EPL

The English Premiership has seen a lot of improvement since foreigners started playing in the league. Recently we have seen more players from countries that have not been too successful playing in England and making a big statement, Players from Brazil, Argentina, and Spain have not been too hot, leaving the stage to French, Dutch and Germans to achieve the successful headlines.

But now things have changed over the last 5 years and the Spanish players are hitting it big in the EPL. Players like Fabregas, Torres, Arteta have all attained “Untouchable” status. If you have any doubts about Spanish domination in England, ask Liverpool fans who are still feeling the loss of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. Today I’m going give kudos to some of the Spanish ambassadors in the Land of Queen Elizabeth. Also I’ll be giving shot outs to some La Liga Imports who are not Spanish.

We begin with the players who needed a huge upgrade in their games. Some have received decent playing time and yet can’t raise their game. Others have some factors hindering their progress, though not of their own making (injuries etc). Top of the List is Enrique of Newcastle and Salgado of Blackburn. They have seen a lot of games and playing time, but they may be in the wrong teams. Or perhaps, it’s not just not right for them to keep battling in the EPL. Salgado has achieved it all and should be in MLS or the Middle East enjoying a break, while Enrique still has a few years left in him and may need new scenery to get it right.

Players such as Pacheco (Liverpool), Rodrigo and Marcos Alonso (both Bolton) simply are not getting the required playing time and need a new scenery to showcase their talent. Amongst the Madrid faithful Marcos Alonso had plenty of admiration, so it was a surprise to see the young lad head to the North of England to Bolton, of all places. No offense meant but he could have developed more in France, Germany or Portugal (checkout Szalai or Javi Garcia). Rodrigo has had a few games, but way to few with an Elmander in form and Klasnic not doing to bad, chances have come very few for him. Both youngsters may be better off in a different team or league. As for Pacheco, well with a Torres, Ngog, Babbel amongst others leading Liverpool’s attack, I would be mad to say he should keep waiting for his turn. I got two words for him “GET OUT!”


I also need to mention imports who are struggling. Maxi Rodriguez is not looking anywhere near his potential. He has completely faded from the player who once played for Atletico Madrid. Fabio Aurelio is one suffering from the misfortune of too many injuries since he left Valencia. He is a very skillful player who could be deployed on the left wing of attack or defense and excellent with set pieces. I think it’s best he come back to La Liga. The question is, can he stay fit? Fabricio Colocini is a player I never admired during his La Liga days, so he can stay in England and keep giving inconsistent displays. But even he is not close to the biggest FLOP from La Liga and that is Giovani Dos Santos. Funny enough he is a flop for one reason, he moved to the wrong team in the wrong league. Giovani dos Santos left Barcelona for Tottenham Hotspurs 3 seasons ago. (It feels like ages ago, right?) I bet you he slaps himself everyday he thinks of this decision. He is better off in any country other than England. He had an amazing world cup, only to return to the killer of his dreams, Spurs. Right now his agent should be going around begging La Liga teams such as Malaga and Zaragoza. Surely, they could offer him playing time.

Now just before I get into the top EPL stars, I need to talk about a star who is not shining, El Niño Fernando Torres, who is having a struggling season. Honestly I can’t blame him. As if last season was not bad enough, with Benitez gone and Roy Hodgson in, this season started in such a disastrous manner so much confusion from the management and niggling injuries still popping up here and there. All these factors have lead to a weakened performance from El Niño. But as his performance against Chelsea showed, he still can deliver under the right circumstances. If only Chelsea had shown some balls and made that move for him, he would have been reinvigorated and scoring by now. He has to leave Liverpool unless they bring in a Coach who can take Liverpool back to a title contending position.

Now let’s leave all the gloomy tales and move on to the Heroes. This season we had a new arrival, well two and they were big money moves (rightly so if I may add). Yaya Toure and David Silva left Barcelona and Valencia for a new challenge in England. Both started very slow but have warmed their way into the league. Yaya Toure was not going to be a concern due to his physical strength, vision and goal scoring. This has only added to his accolades. The league transition was expected to be easier for him. Silva was the main concern due to his physique, but he has been hitting the strides and even getting into some challenges, what a sweet sight I tell you. Both players deserve a huge round of applause. Also amongst the Manchester city adventurers is an unsung hero in Zabaleta, not a headliner, but a versatile player who has been there at right back and left back, whenever he has been called upon. He is one player who if he wants to leave the EPL I would suggest a return to La Liga. The Ex-Espanyol player would be received with arms wide open.

Other notable heroes are Fabregas who anytime he isn’t on the field for Arsenal, makes them look like 3 man short and a bunch of 16yr olds. He is still in the wrong team if you ask me. But the maturity he brings to a side that doesn’t know how to kill games, is amazing. Pepe Reina is another player who has been amongst the bright spots in a Liverpool team worth forgetting about. Oh yes his incredulous errors do happen! (But aren’t the best guilty of such?) He is still without any doubt, in the top 3 best goalies in the EPL.

The Best Spanish player in the EPL so far this season it goes to a player who will never play for La Roja, Mikel Arteta. He is the man who when he is off his game, Everton falters. Too bad Atletico Madrid couldn’t get him back to La Liga. He deserves to be playing for a much bigger side. He is the lynchpin in Everton. Their season would have been even worse, if he wasn’t available. Good vision, eye for goal and excellent delivery from set pieces. If the English were not too proud to admit he is better than all their midfielders and grant him citizenship, he would have been a member of the 3 Lions. But wait I think he played for Spain at youth levels. Nevertheless, he is a standout and my top pick for Best Spanish player in the EPL.

Finally the best overall non Spanish player from La Liga, who moved to the EPL is Rafael Van der Vaart. He just started like he has been playing in England forever and brought an extra class to Totienham Hotspurs. Such a smooth transition. In the UCL, he has been on fire. In the EPL, he has netted 8 goals in 12 games. This says it all. Unfortunately, he has had a few injuries to deal with. Even so, he has shown the same class for which he has been known for, back in the day at Ajax. He is the buy of the season in the EPL and he was sold for only 8 mill euros. Amazing isn’t it? VdV is excellent at set pieces, a master dribbler, creates neat passes and can get in a tackle or two. I don’t know any Coach who doesn’t want such a player.

Did I miss anyone? What Spanish player or former La Liga player has impressed you in the Premiership?

Article by Raphael Harry for Forza Futbol

Premier League Nonsense: Mis-Director of Football

This Director of Football nonsense will never work in England. Let the manager bring in his own players. If it worked for Cloughie and Sir Alex, or Shankly and Bob Paisley then it can work today.

That may have been true, once before the Premier League, the high-salaries and the expensive imports tainted the first division, but nowadays it just doesn´t stand to reason to continue the status quo. Look at Manchester City. Three ownership groups and four managers in 5+ years. Stuart Pierce, Sven-Goran Ericksson, Mark Hughes and Roberto Mancini. One Englishman full of blood and thunder followed by a Swede more Italian than Scandinavian of temperament. One Welshman schooled in the rough-and-tumble Northwest followed by the measured continental grace of an Italian from the shores of the Adriatic. What differences in styles, tactics, management, and even communication between them. It´s no wonder despite the talent on that huge squad, they still haven´t been able to crack the top four.

The papers say it´s money that keeps all others out, but what is City´s problem? Is it always the manager´s fault? The players rule, and with the sort of contracts given to them, it almost assures mediocre performance. The managers are fired and the club yo-yos between British and Continental and back-again. The papers say they should have given them more time or more money even, that stability is the key and it takes awhile for a Wenger or a Sir Alex to build a juggernaut, but I contend it´s much easier than that. Hire a Director of Football. Liverpool just did. Your club should too.

You´ll save money in the long run. Take Sevilla and Villarreal for a start. Both have cost-conscious owners with a penchant for frugality. They both have innovative front-offices and scouting structures in place scouring mid-level leagues in Europe and in South America. Nine different countries are represented for the nervionenses (Sevilla). 6 for the Yellow Submarine (Villarreal). They both have active and productive youth-team set-ups. Sergio Ramos, Jose Antonio Reyes, Dani Alves and many others have come out of the Sanchez-Pizjuan. Villarreal B are one of the strongest sides (let alone B-squads) in the Second Division. If they would have had anywhere near what Real Madrid and Barcelona make from television contracts or merchandising, we would have been celebrating wins from either squad in league and in cups over the last five years. 

You´ll keep up with the times. Some would say that this is an extension of Moneyball; where clubs in baseball changed the status-quo using statistical analysis to evaluate talent, sell players at a profit and constantly change and adapt to the marketplace first rather than following tried and true, old-boy´s network strategies of doing business. It wasn´t just attempting to run a club like any other business, nobody really believes that the usual rules of profit and loss apply to sport in the strictest sense, but running it effectively considering how poorly your competition was running theirs; that´s the key to Moneyball or Sabermetrics or whatever you want to call it. It´s not about statistics, but about intent and applying it by beating your opponent before they even step out onto the pitch.

You´ll stop waiting for saviors. I realize that the English game is steeped in the history of the innovative manager, the genius who comes to town and creates history: Chapman, Shankly, Revie, Clough, Ferguson or Wenger, but those days are over. In today´s game it is almost impossible to assert yourself at a club to the extent that they did. It takes years to build a club from the ground up to suit your intent; you´ll get fired before that happens. Think of all the fuss over Kevin Keegan returning to Newcastle or Kenny Dalglish being almost willed by an entire city, or at least the red-half, to return to the Liverpool bench. How many clubs are waiting for Jose Mourinho to pick them from amongst the wallflowers and dance with them for awhile until he tires and even he doesn't work alone. He has a a group of trusted advisors that he takes with him wherever he goes and he requires an investment of capital that few clubs can aspire to. Are you willing to hand him the keys to your Aston Martin knowing that he'll be trading up to next year's sports-car sooner rather than later? Even his is no long term fix. His Chelsea squad endured but has Inter's? Porto´s? The jury is still out as it is at Real Madrid.

Now that's not to say that the Director of Football is a panacea that works at all times in all situations. That's just wrong, but consider the cases of Juande Ramos and Manuel Pellegrini. They were instrumental in leading Sevilla and Vilarreal respectively. Both left their comfortable niches, one more cordially than the other, to secure big salary positions. They left their respective clubs reeling, but because the organizations were in place, the wage scales and contracts had already been negotiated, and the youth teams were stocked, there was only a slight blip in form. There was no mass exodus of players and the new coach did not plunder his former club for expensive signings. The reason for this continued stability is the Director of Football. Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo or "Monchi¨ for Sevilla and José Manuel Llaneza Durá for Villarreal (amongst others in their charge) have allowed both clubs to continue fighting for titles and trophies despite the fact that either club are miles apart financially from their immediate rivals.

You think I´m wrong? Look at the latest hire at Chelsea FC made. Txiki Begiristain, architect of the latest incarnation of Barcelona FC, and cast-off of President Sandro Rosell, has landed with his feet firmly in place. The London-Blues realize that even an infinite amount of money cannot buy Championships. Someone must be in charge, and it might as well be a Director of Football; or do I have to remind you of Luis Felipe Scolari and Avram Grant?

La Liga: A Move in the Right Direction

I have been writing lately about some of the improvements the Spanish League needs to consider to be competitive with the Premiership, and the other big European leagues, as well as the branding or marketing that is needed to promote the league and improve profit margins.
Well today, I want to give a round of applause to the Spanish League for starting discussions on several topics that are near and dear to my heart.

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