EPL Talk » Amr Zaki

Wigan Pass On Amr Zaki

Ethan Armstrong — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:16:05 +0000

I admit it. I was fully dazzled by Amr Zaki when he first came to play in England. The stunning goals came so quickly. And they were gorgeous. Wigan Athletic’s unknown striker just needed half a second on the ball to make miracles happen and it seemed like the goals were going to stream from his thirsty feet all season.

In late September Wigan manager Steve Bruce couldn’t bubble forth enough shining praise of Amr Zaki. Awesome. Fantastic. A real future. Fan favourite. Power. Pace. Gives everything he’s got. At the time Zaki was top scorer in the Premier League and there was no sign of the unprofessionalism that would vex Bruce and Wigan later in the season. “I can’t question his attitude,” said Bruce in admiration.

Zaki was one of the most exciting players to come out of last summer’s transfer window. Loaned from Egypt’s El Zamalek for the season, Zaki’s influence was immediate and exceptional. By the end of September, Zaki had scored six goals in eight appearances, helping the Lactics secure three league wins, two draws and a cup win against Notts County. Wigan’s quick eight points put them 10th in the table. A great start for a club that sat just four points from safety at the end of last season.

The inevitable question arose: Could Zaki continue this amazing form throughout the long season? But no one thought to ask: Would Zaki continue showing up to practice throughout the long season?

In April, reports surfaced that Bruce fined Zaki for failing to return on time after international duty. This was the fourth incident of Zaki absenteeism. Bruce said Zaki had already been fined “considerably more than the average person in Britain earns in a year.”

His unprofessionalism has seen him fail to meet anything close to the potential he showed early on. He’s been a player with a foot out the door since midyear, and while Steve Bruce may have been cursing himself in the early winter for not buying Zaki outright, he is now ready to help the 26-year-old pack his bags.

Bruce complained Zaki has been distracted by supposed interest from other clubs like Real Madrid. This was the cause in the change in the player. Wigan was just to small for him. He was ready to move on.

But shouldn’t this interest have sparked Zaki’s form rather than cause him to switch it off? Shouldn’t the prospect of playing for a larger club have been a call for Zaki to step up the professionalism rather than abandon it?

His agent claims that Zaki has offers from four other Premier League clubs, so maybe the mid-season sulking hasn’t jeapordized his ambitions. But the sad display should be a warning to prospective clubs.

Any club that goes for him risks all the primadonna baggage that he can bring. If he goes to a bigger club, what happens when he’s benched for the star strikers already there? He’s not going to start over proven talents like Torres, Anelka, or Rooney. If he goes to a top four club, he’ll have to compete for spots with established strikers who have been plying their trade successfully for the best teams in England. If Zaki’s late season antics are an indicator, I can see him reacting childishly to any significant amount of time spent on the bench. Remember Craig Bellamy at Liverpool? The pouting. The dirty looks when subbed off. I don’t see Zaki breaking out the golf clubs, but the point is professionalism. It’s one thing to be a proven goalscorer. It’s another thing to be a part of a team. Zaki doesn’t seem to have that second, all-important part down.

If he doesn’t grow up, he’s not going to make it at a bigger club. There’s no room for such childishness at the top.

Steve Bruce Is Right To Come Clean Over Zaki

Paul Bestall — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:32:56 +0000

Why don’t more managers come clean in the press about disruptive or unprofessional players? It seems that more and more in these sanitised and sponsorship heavy times that too many people keep quiet about the players who are taking the Michael. At least Steve Bruce has bucked the trend and come out in public with his frustration over Amr Zaki and his time keeping.

To most football fans, it’s been obvious that Zaki has been wanting to leave Wigan since mid November, such has been the fall off in his performances and attitude. Here’s a striker that scored 9 times in his first 13 Premiership matches but his last goal for Wigan was a penalty in a 1-0 win at Bolton on December 28th and you’ve actually got to go back to October 18th for his last goal in open play in the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool.

A classic case of someone who has decided he’s too big for the club that’s given him the chance to make a name for himself in 6 months and feels that he’s better off without them. Yet it comes to something when your behaviour makes Mido look like a model professional and Zaki is a long way short of that level of commitment to Wigan Athletic and their fans.

I can only assume that Wigan can’t terminate the loan deal they have with Zaki’s Egyptian side Zamalek, otherwise I think Bruce would have kicked him all the way to Manchester Airport and threw him on the next flight back to Cairo. It’s an absolute disgrace that this player feels he can muck Wigan Athletic, their management and the fans about as much as this. In fact it’s pathetic. No-one had heard of Zaki outside of Africa before he joined Wigan Athletic, they took a punt on a striker who was ranked as the worlds best in the FIFA rankings last summer and gave him an opportunity to shine in the Premiership.

As soon as rumours began to circulate that bigger clubs were after him, he just packed it in and put his feet up. Bruce’s comments on Wigan’s website are heartfelt and the frustration and anger drip from every word. This is apparently the 4th time this season he’s done a bunk after International duty which is why I mentioned earlier that I don’t think Wigan can cancel the deal without some kind of financial penalty clause kicking in to touch.

Too many times modern footballers get wrapped in cotton wool and protected from the real world that the fans need to see and hear about. They get paid fortunes in the Premier League and they treat their fans like this, on this form he’s in danger of knocking Ashley Cole off the perch of most idiotic footballer in Britain, which is some going on Cole’s form.

You have to question the reasons behind Zaki’s thinking that if any big clubs are interested, who in their right mind is going to take a chance on someone who quite clearly doesn’t give a damn about anyone else but himself. Good on Steve Bruce for coming clean about Zaki and I feel sorry for any manager that takes the plunge to give him another chance in the Summer. You can bet on one thing, he sure as hell won’t be at Wigan Athletic next season.

Wigan Begin To Rebuild But Can Mido Help Or Hinder?

Paul Bestall — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:15:53 +0000

When the season began, few people would have given Wigan Athletic a snowball’s chance in hell of finishing in the top ten, never mind pushing on the brink of European Football as January almost comes to a close. After a fantastic first season under Paul Jewell in 2005-2006, which saw them finish in 10th place and then a nerve wracking final day survival by winning at Sheffield United to stay up on goal difference. Last season saw them struggle to cope after Paul Jewell walked away and Chris Hutchings paid the ultimate price after trying to fill his mentors boots again after unsuccessfully trying to follow him at Bradford City and Dave Whelan was left facing a major decision in who to turn to in order to keep Wigan Athletic in the Premiership. Thankfully for Dave Whelan, Steve Bruce was having a terrible time at Birmingham City and desperate to get away from the boardroom infighting and aborted takeover from Carson Yeung. It was in no small part to the laughable attempt at a takeover from Yeung that benefited Wigan Athletic but also, in my opinion, saw Birmingham relegated. Yeung’s statements that he wanted to get Birmingham into the Champions League certainly raised a smile on most football fans faces, especially Wigan Athletic’s once Bruce came back to the JJB Stadium in November 2007.

In the 14 months since Bruce returned for his second spell in Lancashire, Wigan have stabilised, survived and pushed on as Bruce looked to add some flair to the qualities that Wigan already had in their squad with players like Chris Kirkland, Emile Heske, Antonio Valencia and Mario Melchiot giving him an experienced and talented spine to add to. His two signings last January,Palacios and Figueroa certainly raised some eyebrows, but now no-one is in any doubt about the qualities of those two players. The duo certainly began to make certain other clubs wonder why their scouting networks couldn’t pick up these bargains and now with the sale of Palacios to Tottenham for £13 million, a fantastic piece of business for Bruce and Wigan. For whatever reasons Bruce has excelled at picking up some fantastic players for peanuts in his time at the JJB Stadium.

The fee for Palacios, coupled with the the money raised from the sales of Heskey and Kilbane has begun to allow Bruce a chance to build his Wigan Athletic. Crucial to this is the intriguing signing of Mido from Middlesborough and Bruce’s options of playing the Egyptian national side’s striking superstars week in, week out. Mido is a player so frustratingly talented, yet wildly inconsistent that Bruce is going to need every ounce of managerial nous to deal with him but Mido finally needs to stop acting like a primadonna to finally deliver on his natural talent.

At 25 years of age, he is now with his 9th club which should tell you all you need to know about his motivation issues and with a career that has seen him play in 7 different countries, banned from his national side after an amazing touchline argument with his national manager in the Semi Final of the African Nations Cup in 2006, numerous red cards, driving bans, alleged scissor throwing incidents at Ajax and so on. Wigan have made steady progress this year and Bruce tried to sign Mido whilst he was still at Birmingham City so he certainly seems to be keen on the striker. Perhaps Bruce is banking on Mido’s compatriot, Amr Zaki, to assist in getting the best out of the talismanic striker and if it pays off, Wigan Athletic will be a very different prospect to the one that faced sides prior to the transfer window opening.It is certainly an interesting replacement for Emile Heskey.

10 Reasons Why This Premier League Season Is The Best Yet

The Gaffer — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:29:17 +0000

This weekend we were graced with another very entertaining and competitive Premier League weekend. At this rate, we’re well on course for one of the most exciting Premier League seasons in recent memory. Here are ten reasons why:

No more Derby County. The three promoted teams already have equaled or exceeded the number of points that Derby achieved during the entire 07/08 season. Derby won a mere 11 points last season. West Bromwich Albion currently have 11, while newboys Stoke City have 13 and fairytale Hull City has 20.
Amr Zaki. The Egyptian striker has been a revelation and an absolute joy to watch. Not only has his exquisite goals been sublime, but the way Zaki reads the game and how strong and confident he has been is a testament to his skills. He also seems very humble, which is a rare attribute for Premier League goalscorers.
Hull City. Even in their losses against Manchester United and Chelsea during the past week, Hull have showed a wonderful attitude as well as a lack of fear which is so hard to find in the Premier League. With Hull, unpredictability happens, which is another rarity about the Premiership.
Rory Delap. When was the last time you saw one player have such a dramatic impact on a team’s chances of winning by using one of the most unconventional methods? Delap’s throw-ins seem to be practically unstoppable. Both goals by Stoke yesterday against Arsenal were the result of Delap’s throws.
Tottenham Hotspur. Love them or hate them, Tottenham Hotspur’s season has been more dramatic than an entire season of Dream Team. Everything that could have gone wrong did. And everything that could have gone right in one week did, too.
Liverpool. While I was a big critic of their form earlier in the season where they lucked out on several occasions during the qualifying games in Europe and their first few matches in the Premier League, the club has found its form and look one of the most dangerous sides in the league.
Arsenal. Before the season began, who would have predicted that the Gunners would lose against Fulham, Hull City and Stoke City? Arsene Wenger’s side continues to be a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. Some weeks they’re playing blistering football, but other times they’ve been abysmal.
Classics. One of the major things we were missing last season were classic games that you’ll remember for years. While last season’s race was close, we’ve already experienced four classic games and we’re only just in November. Classics include Man City 2-3 Liverpool, Arsenal 4-4 Spurs, Liverpool 3-2 Wigan and Spurs 2-1 Liverpool.
Big Four. This season, for the first time in ages, we have the best chance of a real Big Four race instead of just the Big Two. Sure, Arsenal has slipped but there’s still plenty of time for the Gunners to regain their winning form.
Chelsea reborn. Luis Felipe Scolari has turned Chelsea into a lean fighting machine capable of playing some free-flowing football as well as playing with a confidence that they’ve been lacking for quite some time. The Blues already have a goal difference of +23, while Liverpool have +8 despite having the same number of points as Chelsea, 26.

What highlights and storylines are missing from the above list that have made this season the best yet? Click the comments link below and let us know.

Amr Zaki: Walking In A Wigan Wonderland

The Gaffer — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:37:16 +0000

The number of days that Wigan striker Amr Zaki will be a Wigan Athletic player are numbered. Even when the Egyptian ends his loan spell and becomes a Wigan player, it’s only a matter of time before a massive club signs one of the brightest, most talented players the Premier League has seen in years.

The more I watch Zaki, the more he impresses. He’s scored six goals this season, but it’s not just his ability to score that has caught my attention.

Zaki uses his upper body strength well to ensure that he’s not knocked off the ball. He likes the physical element and isn’t afraid to go into a tackle 50/50 to try to win the ball. Other strikers in the Premier League would be brushed aside, but Zaki makes his presence known by trying to win every ball.

One of the most important attributes of a Premier League striker is attitude. Zaki doesn’t get involved in verbal arguments with referees or opposition players. Instead he seems humble and has a good head on his shoulders deciding to let his football do the talking.

His football skills are brilliant, too. Not only his ability to knock the ball into the back of the net, but also his positioning in and around the goal area, and his ability to control the ball. A perfect example was in the closing minutes of yesterday’s impressive 2-1 win against Manchester City when Zaki received the ball and had two Man City defenders to beat. He was able to bring the ball down and shake off two City defenders and then take a shot on goal that would have gone in if it wasn’t for City goalkeeper Joe Hart who tipped the ball over the crossbar.

Zaki also showed his coolness under pressure yesterday when he took the penalty that was the deciding factor in the game. On his goalline, Joe Hart was screaming all sorts of things at Zaki to through off his concentration, but Zaki stepped up and slotted the ball into the back of the net.

With Zaki, Wigan has a born hero and natural striker who will continue to set the Premier League on fire. He reminds of a fit Louis Saha when he was at Fulham when the Craven Cottage team beat Manchester United, and it was only weeks later when Man United bought Saha to prevent a lesser team like Fulham embarrassing United again. At that time, Saha was a revelation who was on top of his form and able to score wonderful goals from the tightest of angles.

As long as Zaki stays with Wigan, the Latics are going to continue being a force to reckon with. Zaki is that good, and Wigan – as a result – will have one of their brightest seasons since they entered the Premier League in 2005/2006.