FOOTBALL
I THOUGHT Tottenham supremo Daniel Levy had lost his mind when he sacked Harry Redknapp last month. What more could old ‘Arry have done for the club? When he arrived at White Hart Lane in October 2008, Spurs were four points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League.
From that rock-bottom, he led them to their first-ever Champions League campaign in 2010. And they only missed a return to the competition because Chelsea won the Champions League - finishing fourth would normally have been enough to guarantee that achievement.
So just how could Levy do better than Harry - unless he secured the services of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola?
Well, he has blind-sided us by pulling from a hat a man who might well trump Harry in the glory stakes.
I would never have conjured up the name of Andre Villas Boas as Harry’s replacement.
Who would? He had been sacked at Chelsea after a torrid few months at Stamford Bridge and appeared destined to rebuild his reputation in Italy.
But now he has the ideal opportunity to do that in England - and at one of Chelsea’s biggest rivals!
That makes it an incredible appointment - and an incredibly exciting one for all Spurs fans. For now they have a man even more motivated than Redknapp in their hot-seat - a man who simply cannot afford another failure in England.
He has everything to prove and I think he will take some stopping. He will be given the control he craved but was denied at Chelsea (where player-power cost him so dearly) as Levy backs the Portuguese’s plan for domestic then world domination.
AVB (as Villas Boas is known in press circles) will be able to introduce the higher defensive backline he was unable to bring in at Chelsea (primarily because John Terry is too slow to cope with it) and produce a brand of attacking, winning football as he did at Porto.
Yes, I predict AVB will be a winner at Tottenham - and that he will take them to greater heights than Redknapp. Well done, Levy, for digging yourself out of a hole with a truly amazing appointment.
WeeklySport
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
IS WENGER RIGHT ABOUT £13MILLION GIROUD?
'IN Arsene we trust' is the celebrated catchphrase of Arsenal fans.
But is Monsieur Wenger right in paying £13million for Olivier Giroud?
For years Gunners fans have urged him to splash the cash during the closed seasons.
Well, now he is doing just that but I am not sure Giroud is good enough and that he will fit into the Arsenal style of play.
Of course, it looks like he has bought him because Robin van Persie is on his way to Man City (I was told yesterday that the Dutchman has already been sizing up potential homes in the Cheshire suburbs).
But while I am convinced Arsene spent well on £11million Lukas Poldoski - a German international and confirmed deadly striker - Giroud leaves me full of doubt.
He is a straight up and down big hitman and he looked far from impressive in Euro 2012.
Do Arsenal really want to have to launch long balls to get the best out of him?
And can he provide the quality and goals to justify his signing?
Or is he just a more expensive Marouane Chamakh?
We shall see.
But is Monsieur Wenger right in paying £13million for Olivier Giroud?
For years Gunners fans have urged him to splash the cash during the closed seasons.
Well, now he is doing just that but I am not sure Giroud is good enough and that he will fit into the Arsenal style of play.
Of course, it looks like he has bought him because Robin van Persie is on his way to Man City (I was told yesterday that the Dutchman has already been sizing up potential homes in the Cheshire suburbs).
But while I am convinced Arsene spent well on £11million Lukas Poldoski - a German international and confirmed deadly striker - Giroud leaves me full of doubt.
He is a straight up and down big hitman and he looked far from impressive in Euro 2012.
Do Arsenal really want to have to launch long balls to get the best out of him?
And can he provide the quality and goals to justify his signing?
Or is he just a more expensive Marouane Chamakh?
We shall see.
FRANKIE'S FLUTTERS
FRANKIE’S EURO 2012 FLUTTERS
This week I predict that Portugal will beat Spain and that Germany will see off Italy.
At the start of the tournament I said that Germany would win the trophy and I see no reason to change that view right now.
Germany have had more days' rest than Italy and the Italians will surely still be feeling the effects of that gruelling 120 minutes plus penalties after their win over England.
As for Spain, they are simply not as good without the wonderful David Villa's goals and the stability of Carles Puyol at the back.
I believe Cristiano Ronaldo will wreck their dream of becoming the first team to win three tournaments on the run.
(For more information on Frank and his bestselling sports books, see www.frankworrall.com)
Weekly Sport readers can buy Frank’s insightful book on Sir Alex Ferguson for the special price of only £2.74 on Kindle (retail price £17.99 for the hardback)…go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/Walking-Fergie-Wonderland-Biography-ebook/dp/B00603XJB8/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326291046&sr=1-7
This week I predict that Portugal will beat Spain and that Germany will see off Italy.
At the start of the tournament I said that Germany would win the trophy and I see no reason to change that view right now.
Germany have had more days' rest than Italy and the Italians will surely still be feeling the effects of that gruelling 120 minutes plus penalties after their win over England.
As for Spain, they are simply not as good without the wonderful David Villa's goals and the stability of Carles Puyol at the back.
I believe Cristiano Ronaldo will wreck their dream of becoming the first team to win three tournaments on the run.
(For more information on Frank and his bestselling sports books, see www.frankworrall.com)
Weekly Sport readers can buy Frank’s insightful book on Sir Alex Ferguson for the special price of only £2.74 on Kindle (retail price £17.99 for the hardback)…go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/Walking-Fergie-Wonderland-Biography-ebook/dp/B00603XJB8/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326291046&sr=1-7
SACK DINOSAUR ROY HODGSON AND BRING BACK GLENN HODDLE?
SO it all ended in tears and frustration - but we weren't surprised one little bit.
Roy Hodgson asked for our patience and a spell without criticism; a tournament we would not judge him upon.
Well, he got all that - but now the honeymoon is most certainly over.
He led England through to the last 8 of Euro 2012 and he is adamant he did as well as could be expected.
After all, he was parachuted into the job with barely a month of preparation before the first match against the French.
And he had to make do without a handful of key men - Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry among them.
And he made a point of stressing both factors again and again.
Well, yes, he didn't have much time and he did have to make do without some injured stars.
But I ask you this...would Jose Mourinho have done any better in the same circumstances?
And I tell you this...of course, he would have!
Mourinho would have made England hard to beat but would also have set them up differently tactically so that we
were not as predictable, so that we were not as dull and dour, so that we would have had more of the ball and so
that we would have got the ball to the strikers more.
And I reckon Mourinho would have had the balls to have dropped Rooney for the Italy match when it was clear that
the Man United striker was unfit and off form.
Mourinho would also surely have made room in his team for the talented Phil Jones - or at least have brought him on as a sub instead of the journeyman Jordan Henderson. How England could have used Jones' wild runs from midfield to attack.
So what does all that tell us about Hodgson?
It tells us what I said before the tournament - that he is the FA's Recession England manager for a time of recession.
A steady hand who will not rock the boat; who will steer the ship off the rocks but will never have the genius or audacity to win the ultimate prizes.
While Mourinho is a tactical genius and an excellent manager of footballers, Roy is a nice guy from a different era who keeps a happy unit because he is a nice guy, a sort of genial, benign uncle figure.
Roy is also, unfortunately, a dinosaur tactically and a defensive coach rather than an offensive one.
That is why England were so good defensively but so ugly and horrible in midfield and attack.
They were outnumbered in the middle of the park and did not have the flexbility to change shape and formation because they were doing their job: working to the rigid formula of their defensive manager.
It is all very well keeping West Bromwich Albion out of the relegation zone with an all-hands on deck approach, but that same approach did not work at Liverpool who had greater ambitions and greater designs on positive play and creativity.
It is the same with England.
Roy Hodgson smothered the opposition - and his own team - and made it to the last 8 of the Euros.
If that is good enough for you, then fair enough.
But now the honeymoon is most certainly over, he needs to show an inventiveness and willingness to embrace flair and imagination that I fear he simply does not possess.
This is the man the FA have entrusted to point the way forwards for the England team and the revolution at all levels, from youth upwards, via the new multi-million pound centre of excellence that will open shortly at St George's Park in Burton-upon-Trent.
The real fear is that the man the FA have empowered to enfore the revolution is too conservative and limited - that he is indeed a dinosaur and that instead of reaching the promised land, we will end up in a cul-de-sac more appropriate to the dark ages.
If that is the case, and we struggle to beat the likes of Poland and Ukraine in our World Cup qualifiers, I hope the FA have the guts to put us all out of our misery - and show Roy the door.
Would we then get Mourinho?
No...but we could bring in Glenn Hoddle.
Yes...I know he had the job once and blew it. But that was because of some wacky view - not because of his football brain. Hoddle is tactically brilliant and 13 years wiser than back then.
He could be the answer if Roy does prove to be the problem.
FRANK WORRALL
Roy Hodgson asked for our patience and a spell without criticism; a tournament we would not judge him upon.
Well, he got all that - but now the honeymoon is most certainly over.
He led England through to the last 8 of Euro 2012 and he is adamant he did as well as could be expected.
After all, he was parachuted into the job with barely a month of preparation before the first match against the French.
And he had to make do without a handful of key men - Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry among them.
And he made a point of stressing both factors again and again.
Well, yes, he didn't have much time and he did have to make do without some injured stars.
But I ask you this...would Jose Mourinho have done any better in the same circumstances?
And I tell you this...of course, he would have!
Mourinho would have made England hard to beat but would also have set them up differently tactically so that we
were not as predictable, so that we were not as dull and dour, so that we would have had more of the ball and so
that we would have got the ball to the strikers more.
And I reckon Mourinho would have had the balls to have dropped Rooney for the Italy match when it was clear that
the Man United striker was unfit and off form.
Mourinho would also surely have made room in his team for the talented Phil Jones - or at least have brought him on as a sub instead of the journeyman Jordan Henderson. How England could have used Jones' wild runs from midfield to attack.
So what does all that tell us about Hodgson?
It tells us what I said before the tournament - that he is the FA's Recession England manager for a time of recession.
A steady hand who will not rock the boat; who will steer the ship off the rocks but will never have the genius or audacity to win the ultimate prizes.
While Mourinho is a tactical genius and an excellent manager of footballers, Roy is a nice guy from a different era who keeps a happy unit because he is a nice guy, a sort of genial, benign uncle figure.
Roy is also, unfortunately, a dinosaur tactically and a defensive coach rather than an offensive one.
That is why England were so good defensively but so ugly and horrible in midfield and attack.
They were outnumbered in the middle of the park and did not have the flexbility to change shape and formation because they were doing their job: working to the rigid formula of their defensive manager.
It is all very well keeping West Bromwich Albion out of the relegation zone with an all-hands on deck approach, but that same approach did not work at Liverpool who had greater ambitions and greater designs on positive play and creativity.
It is the same with England.
Roy Hodgson smothered the opposition - and his own team - and made it to the last 8 of the Euros.
If that is good enough for you, then fair enough.
But now the honeymoon is most certainly over, he needs to show an inventiveness and willingness to embrace flair and imagination that I fear he simply does not possess.
This is the man the FA have entrusted to point the way forwards for the England team and the revolution at all levels, from youth upwards, via the new multi-million pound centre of excellence that will open shortly at St George's Park in Burton-upon-Trent.
The real fear is that the man the FA have empowered to enfore the revolution is too conservative and limited - that he is indeed a dinosaur and that instead of reaching the promised land, we will end up in a cul-de-sac more appropriate to the dark ages.
If that is the case, and we struggle to beat the likes of Poland and Ukraine in our World Cup qualifiers, I hope the FA have the guts to put us all out of our misery - and show Roy the door.
Would we then get Mourinho?
No...but we could bring in Glenn Hoddle.
Yes...I know he had the job once and blew it. But that was because of some wacky view - not because of his football brain. Hoddle is tactically brilliant and 13 years wiser than back then.
He could be the answer if Roy does prove to be the problem.
FRANK WORRALL
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