EPL Talk » Roy Keane

Can Anderson Be the Key?

David Schiavone — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:47:53 +0000

The Midfield Magician

Cast your mind back to May 2009, Manchester United were comprehensively and soundly trounced in Rome by a magical Barcelona side, inspired by Xavi and Iniesta. For many, the lack of quality in the centre of the park was plain to see, Carrick looked lethargic and unsure of himself, Fletcher was missed, this, a surprise in itself. Club legends, Giggs and Scholes were ineffective and nowhere to be seen.

The class of the Manchester United midfield is weak in comparison their Premier League rivals, Chelsea with Essien, Lampard, Ballack and Liverpool have Mascherano, Aquilani and Gerrard respectively. Carrick, Fletcher and Scholes just do not compare.

Some of you may cry, “You forgot about Owen Hargreaves!” Indeed I did, mainly due to the length of time he has been injured and latest estimates say he will return around Christmas.

With the transfer window almost closed there are no centre midfielders in sight. So I put it to you that, Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira or just plain Anderson will flourish this season.

In my opinion, Anderson possesses all the qualities to become a top class midfielder, he has pace, acceleration, strength, a strong positional sense coupled with the ability to thread through a match winning final ball. He is a combatitive all action midfielder, beginning his career further up the park, he has since developed a very useful defensive side to an already impressive array of attacking talents.

Anderson reminds me a little of Kaka but with a hint of Roy Keane, obviously these are massively talented players, whose level of ability he has not yet reached, but I think he can and has to an extent combined the best parts of their respective games.

He can sit in front of the defence and play a disciplined role, spreading passes to his teammates further up the field. He can also play as an attacking midfielder, a place where he is most comfortable. In this position he offers all the samba skills you can want – just ask Cesc Fabregas – he has vision, dribbling skills and an eye for goal.

The single shortfall of Anderson’s game, and it is a rather large one, is his uncanny ability to do everything right in the lead up to a shot then fluff the final act, footballs have been found as far away as China. Seemingly he did not bring his shooting boots to Old Trafford.

But I have hopes he can eradicate this untimely habit throughout the forthcoming season, and if pre-season is anything to go by we are in for a few treats, as his sublime free-kick against Boca Juniors was a joy to behold.

I think this could be the season where stamps his authority on this Manchester United side, he has already shown in the past he can mix it up with the big boys dominating in games against Fabregas and Steven Gerrard during his first season with United. He may just prove that there is infact life after a certain Portuguese.

Sunderland Need To Move Quickly But Realistically

Paul Bestall — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:12:29 +0000

The only thing that surprised me about Ricky Sbragia’s resignation was the timing of it, coming just 20 or 30 minutes after the final whistle. It was odd to watch Niall Quinn speaking about his manager not wanting to take up the option of another year as manager, whilst Sbragia stood there impassively.

Now it seems that the man who dared to question Roy Keane’s scattergun approach to transfer policy, correctly in my opinion, Ellis Short, is finalising his deal to buy out the board and complete his takeover at the Stadium of Light. A transfer kitty of £200 million will then apparently be made available to whoever takes the hot seat over which just makes me throw my hands up in exasperation.

60 years ago, Sunderland were known as the “Bank of England” due to their wealth but times have moved on and once again we’re faced with another club who seem to have no realisation of where they are in the scheme of things. The names being mentioned with the vacancy go from the ludicrous, Frank Rijkaard, to the obvious, Alan Curbishley, to the stupid, Steve Bruce being a Newcastle fan. The number one target, Martin Jol looks set for his dream job as Ajax manager; can Sunderland honestly think they can match Ajax in terms of appeal?

Now I’ve nothing against Sunderland wanting to better themselves but once again this is a club that the new owner assumes that just because it’s in the Premiership, everyone will be queuing up to join them. No offence to Sunderland fans but Short must be living in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks that they can attract the quality of players or a top quality manager he seems to think will want to join them.

Despite the amounts of money washing around in the Premiership, to attract the top players you either need to be based in London, or an internationally known club such as Liverpool or Manchester United. Sunderland are neither at the present moment and Short needs to look at how tough Manchester City are finding it to attract the big name players they assumed would be desperate to join them. Regardless of what a lot of people think, the top players want to win trophies, with money being a distant second.

You can have all the money in the world, but as in Sunderland’s case, you have no real international presence or modern history, you will struggle to improve the player quality with signings from abroad. Look at Newcastle in their pomp or Leeds United when they were going well, which top quality international stars did they sign? None. Not one, because of geographical location and history of success.

They may have signed some great players, but not one of true top level international quality. Ginola was a swear word in France by the time he joined Newcastle after being blamed for the goal that cost France qualification to USA 94. Faustino Asprilla was a loose cannon, unable to fit in anywhere, a risk too far for many managers.

With Short trying to throw money at Sunderland, he may be very surprised of the actual lack of interest from a top quality manager to join him. With several massive clubs in Europe needing new managers, Juventus, Munich, Real Madrid, Ajax, PSG, Chelsea, Celtic and German champions Wolfsburg to name a few, he’ll realise that money isn’t everything in Premiership football. Can Sunderland honestly compete with those sides, regardless of the money the may have?

Even in England, they only have to look up the road to Newcastle United to see the type of player having loads of money can give you. Inconsistent, infuriating and unwanted else where, the perception of the last few years in the UK was that if a player went to Newcastle, it was purely for the money as they had no chance of any silverware.

Short needs to be realistic at Sunderland and grow them steadily, otherwise he could end up with a frustrating summer and team full of mercenary players. Once again, a quick glance up the road will tell them all they need to know about that policy.

Premiership Final Day Preview

Paul Bestall — Fri, 22 May 2009 00:44:09 +0000

Ready For Sunday then?

So, how’s your nerves? Sky Sports News have today been running an article about stress relief for fans for Sunday. Tips included having a hot bath, avoiding alcohol and meditating to stay relaxed in the build up to the final round of matches in the Premiership. Which will be no help to any of the fans who’s nerves are probably already shredded about Sunday. For the first time in the UK, we’re going to have 4 games broadcasted from the Premiership simultaneously with streams coming in from Hull, Sunderland, Aston Villa and West Ham, which worries me about the potential for an RSI based injury.

The trapdoor to the Championship is wide open, beckoning 2 teams to join West Bromwich Albion in relegation despair. Poor WBA, such lovely football, but no cutting edge, what they’d give for a 15 goal a season striker, it would have made all the difference to such a good football side as daft as that sounds. At 6pm, we will know which of the four candidates will have joined them, with each team’s destiny entirely in their own hands, but for Middlesbrough, it just looks too big a job.

Turning around a 5 goal deficit on Hull City, couple with a Newcastle defeat, is the Boro’s only hope. It’s not impossible to imagine Manchester United putting 3 past Hull, but to win 2-0 at West Ham? That’s a tough ask for most sides, but is it impossible to achieve? Come the last day, nothing would surprise me anymore. Can a team who’ve only scored 27 goals get at least 2 away from home and hope that results in two other games go their way?

Most eyes are going to be on the K>C Stadium, to see exactly which team Ferguson sends out to face Hull City. I’m annoyed by the accusations of a “weakened” Manchester United side taking the field, a side that will probably feature Neville, Ferdinand, Nani, Fletcher,Giggs and Tevez. Disgraceful isn’t it to pick such inexperienced players as those. It’s a side track issue that shouldn’t be even a discussion point; all of those players would walk into every other side outside the top 4 without question.

Newcastle need to worry about themselves at Villa Park, if they don’t win then it could possibly not matter. They have to win and hope for the best, but it’s a massive ask of a team that has only won 2 games this year. Defenders are dropping like flies, Owen isn’t fit, Andy Carroll is definitely out and a couple of youth team players may be on the bench. It all looks hopeless, yet I can’t condemn them fully, something just won’t allow me to say they’re down. It looks impossible but with all of the potential relegation sides in such poor form, it’s too close to call.

Finally, Sunderland, who have just drifted into this situation from seemingly nowhere. Keane walked out when he was rightly questioned over his signings by the majority investor, Ellis Short, over just what value for money they were getting. When someone pays £6 million for Teemu Tainio, you’ve got to ask questions haven’t you? Of all the sides at the bottom, they’ve spent the most, yet got worse so have the most to lose in my opinion, by being relegated some Sunday.

I’m going to be here all the way through on Sunday, so if you can’t get to watch any of the games, hopefully you’ll join us here on epltalk.com, and I’ll try to keep pace with events for us all. Let’s hope we’ve we have a fantastic last day and may the best teams stay up!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Join the live blog on Sunday at 10:45am ET/3:45pm BST for the Premier League finale hosted by Paul Bestall. Celebrate the final day of the relegation battle with one eye on the television set, and the other eye on your computer as you participate in the online experience with football fans from around the world.

Without Keane, Sunderland Flirt With Relegation

Ethan Armstrong — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:01:28 +0000

Is Roy Keane smirking right now? Is he rolling his eyes? Both?

For two years Sunderland was Roy Keane’s baby. He took the struggling side, nurtured it back to health and delivered it from the relegation zone of the Championship and back to the top flight. In every transfer window he made moves to improve the squad. Once back at the top, the goal was to dig Sunderland’s feet in and avoid the old yo-yo effect. Stay up. Stay up.

And while they only finished three points from the drop zone, Sunderland didn’t look in danger at the end of 2007/08 and 39 points was an amazing feat compared to their last Premier League finish: 15 points and 20th spot in 2006.

The season began as expected with a balance of wins, draws and losses and Sunderland enjoyed reaching as high as sixth in the League table. But six losses in seven matches led to Keane’s departure. Intense pressure from the board in light of the bad results was too much for Mr Keane. He resigned in early December. Directly before a trip to Old Trafford to face his old club.

Now, I recognize it was Keane’s decision to leave, but doesn’t it seem painfully obvious that the board could have found a more constructive way to work through Sunderland’s problems? Unrelenting pressure at this level is inevitable, especially when the threat of relegation comes into the equation. But boards are too quick to come down on the manager rather than work with him through a rut. It is a foreign concept for boards to think, We’ve got the same goals, let’s fight through this together.

And while Roy Keane may not have been ready for the pressure of leading a struggling premiership side, this would have been an ideal time for Sunderland’s powers-that-be to show their support for the man’s learning process. One six-loss rut in the larger picture of all that Keane had done for Sunderland seems workable. Sure, if the results are not turned around in January, questions need to be asked and a sacking or a resignation may well be in order.

But clearly, Sunderland have gained nothing by letting Roy Keane go.

Interim manager Ricky Sbragia hasn’t turned Sunderland’s results around and now, unless they defeat Chelsea this weekend, their fate will rely on the outcomes of other matches. Newcastle at Villa and Hull hosting Manchester United.

Hull, who scored three goals on United at Old Trafford will put up a fight, and Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to rest his best for the upcoming Champions League final, having won the league already.

Newcastle have a mammoth task playing Villa away, especially with defender Sebastien Bassong suspended. But there’s nothing like facing relegation to inspire a side to glory.

Sunderland will be praying one of the two drop points. But there are no restfull nights in the Blackcats’ week ahead. And even if they survive, the fact that they are in this position in the last weekend is proof enough Keane’s departure didn’t do the club any favors.

Meanwhile, Roy Keane is probably pouring over the scouting reports, plotting his summer moves for Ipswich Town.

“I truly believe that I am joining a club that has the potential, ambition and infrastructure to once again be a Premier League side,” said Keane when appointed. If he returns to the top flight with Ipswich, prehaps he’ll be ready for the next bout of pressure. A good manager learns from past tribulations. Even if boards can’t.

Sunderland Keep Slipping Under Sbragia

Paul Bestall — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:19:06 +0000

When Roy Keane walked out of the Stadium of Light back in December, they had 15 points from 15 games. He’d become exasperated as his expensively recruited side simply hadn’t gelled as quickly as he’d hoped and felt he couldn’t inspire them from the insipid performances they’d shown, especially in his last game in charge, the 4-1 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers.

Yet, when the dust settled it seemed it was board member Ellis Short that seemed to have got under Keane’s skin, as he questioned his tactics and signings, which having funded his Summer extravagance, you would feel he was right to do. Perhaps being American, he was not under the spell of Keane as much as some in the UK but I’ve yet to meet another manager that has his club send letters to forthcoming opponents advising them of rules regarding Keane. The Championship will be delighted with the return of someone who refuses pictures to be taken in the same room as him, regardless if he’s in shot or not, no autographs under any circumstances or for club staff not to speak to him unless spoken to.Delightful.

Once Keane had walked away from Sunderland, Ricky Sbragia was named as the Caretaker Manager for a four game period that saw the Black Cats garner 7 points and the players seemed 100% behind the new regime. So much so that the Sunderland Chairman, Niall Quinn, rewarded him with an 18 month contract to become the new manager of Sunderland and things were looking rosy in SR5.

Fast forward to the end of April, Sunderland have just been routed by West Bromich Albion 3-0 at the Hawthorns as The Baggies gave the best display of the season against a disinterested, dispirited bunch of players in red and white stripes. The only thing missing was Keane back on the bench snarling and staring at the pitch. It was a concerning performance, a performance that will be given the Mackems sleepless nights this weekend, it was the performance of a team in real trouble.

The one benefit for Sunderland is that they’re still out of the bottom 3, regardless of Newcastle’s result tomorrow night. With 4 games to go, they can still save themselves from the ignominy of relegation but they need a win. Any kind of win, but they need one and fast but it’s not the easiest run in they could have had. Two home games against the cup finalists Everton, on May 3rd and Chelsea on the final day book end two tough away trips against Bolton and Portsmouth.

The team seem to have fallen back into the bad habits and lacklustre displays of Keane’s tenure that saw him walk away back in December. Can they really survive without picking up any further points, regardless of how poor Newcastle, Hull, Middlesbrough and West Brom have been playing. To hope that none of the four sides below them pick up any points between now and May 24th would be suicidal at best.Their rivals though hardly have it any easier:

Middlesbrough: Home to Manchester United, Away at Newcastle, Home to Aston Villa, Away at West Ham United.

Newcastle: Portsmouth at Home, Liverpool Away, Home to Middlesbrough & Fulham and then travel to Aston Villa.

West Brom: Spurs Away, Wigan and Liverpool at Home and finish with a trip to Blackburn

Hull City have Villa away a week on Monday, Home to Stoke City, Away at Bolton and finish with Manchester United at Home.

Sbragia needs to try and rectify something in the next few days because they cannot gamble on the teams below them not gaining any points. We only have to look at Fulham last season, relegated with 30 minutes to go at Manchester City, they recovered and won their last 3 games to save themselves and condemn Reading to fall through the trapdoor on goal difference.

The side seems so short of confidence but when you look at the side, they’ve probably got the best squad in the bottom 5 by some way. Yet, whilst Jones and Cisse seem to getting the flack of not getting the goals, the rest of Sunderland’s squad have chipped in with 11 goals between them all season. Yes, 11. Cisse and Jones have 18 in the league so far, but the rest of the team simply aren’t weighing in to help out and for them to have any chance of survival, the rest of the squad have to stand up and be counted.

The Black Cats are going to need more than luck and other teams to stay up.